The Art of Dying
by thestupidgenius1123
Summary: "You don't love me. You need me, and I need you, but you don't love me. And you shouldn't." Wings. AU. Fax.
1. Chapter 1

**The Art of Dying**

**A/N: Thanks for checking this out. You're my hero. If you like, go check out my other stories! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride. All rights to the characters and their backgrounds go to James Patterson.**

**Summary: "You don't love me. You need me, and I need you, but you don't love me. And you shouldn't." Wings. AU. Fax.**

"Love, the deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don't.

But that isn't it, exactly.

The condemner and the condemned. The executioner; the blade; the last-minute reprieve; the gasping breath and the rolling sky above you and the _thank you, thank you, thank you, God_.

Love: It will kill you and save you, both."

-Lauren Oliver, _Delirium_

MAX

I attacked Iggy first.

He knew what was coming and tried to catch my fist, but I landed a nice punch to his jaw. He threw his leg up, hard, and gave me a rough, unforgiving kick in the side. _Ouch_. It knocked the wind out of me and I straightened up, launched myself toward him, and punch his stomach. He grunted and grabbed my arm, pulling it across my chest and holding my back to his body. He breathed heavily in my ear. I could feel his chest heaving against my back.

Then Gazzy roundhouse kicked my stomach just as Iggy let me go and stepped away. I kicked Gazzy's shin with my heel. He winced, retreating. Angel stood on the sidelines of the circle, bounding on her toes, waiting for Gazzy to tap her in. I took in a few even breaths and watched the Gasman compose himself.

"You can't take a breather in a real fight, Gaz," I barked, putting my hand on my hip and leaning forward, trying to catch my breath myself. Truthfully, I was glad he'd given me a break. "Either switch out or make a move."

He lunged for me, his fist centimeters from my cheek. I kicked his stomach. He wheezed and backed up into his sister, clapping his hand on her shoulder.

"No mind games, you little devil," I said. Nine-year-old Angel smiled a bright grin at me before jumping at me, trying to get the upper hand.

"But Max, in a _real _fight-" she began. Fang chuckled from behind me. I gritted my teeth and caught Angel's tiny fist, twisting it. Her face screwed up in pain. She flung her wings out behind her back, trying to get an advantage over me, but in seconds I was behind her, tugging her wings and restricting them. She groaned, hanging her head in defeat as she realized her mistake.

"Don't _ever _let them get a hold of your wings," I said, letting go of her fragile feathers. She nodded and high-fived Nudge.

Nudge punched me, hard in the cheek. Not hard enough to knock any teeth out, but damn, she was getting good. Nudge was fourteen, now, and totally showing her strength.

"You know what I just realized, Max?" she said conversationally. "You always say 'Don't let them do this to you' or 'Never let them see your weakness'. Who is _them_? I mean, we haven't seen any threats for years and I don't really know why all this constant training is necessary-"

"Nudge!" I barked. "Pay attention!"

"Nudge's super power: talking the opponent into madness," Iggy said wryly to my left. Nudge shot him a hard glance.

Then she kicked me, hard enough to bruise my ribs. I smirked. That was more like it. I kicked her knee, grabbing her shoulder as leverage and punched her in the stomach. She rocked back with the momentum of my punch and elbowed me in the jaw. I hissed in a breath, feeling my teeth scrape together. I kicked her and knee her in the stomach. She limped backwards towards the perimeter of the circle.

Fang stepped behind her and she tiredly tapped his arm.

"You're it," she rasped.

Fang was my favorite opponent. Mostly because we knew each others' battle moves as well as our own, so it was the most difficult to one-up each other. Sometimes, we'd go at it for almost an hour, trying to get the other pinned. Another reason was because I didn't have to go easy on him. I always felt like I had to go easy on the others because I was the mother figure, you know. But with Fang…

Anything was game.

I kicked him in the chest and he stumbled backwards. My fist landed at least two good ones to the left side of his face before he caught my hand. Fang twisted my wrist and bent my arm in a way that no one's arm should ever be bent. I hissed, trying to yank my arm out of his grip. Fang punched me in the stomach then shoved me as I was out of breath.

I tried to get up but I was dizzy. _Too _dizzy, since Fang and I had only been fighting for a minute or two and usually I could go a lot, lot longer than that. I got up to my elbows and black spots started clouding my vision. Fang put one knee on my back and curled his fingers into my hair, putting his lips to my ear.

"In a real fight, you'll have to do better than that."

"You're such an ass," I said, elbowing his leg. I realized that was doing absolutely nothing for me, so I started moving under his leg, flopping like a fish out of water. Fang snorted.

"Max, you look-" his words caught in his throat. Now that my dizziness had gone away, I was able to arch off the ground, push him off - he backed off willingly now - and roll onto my back.

Fang didn't take his eyes off me.

"Guys, go clean up," he said, and the others scampered off into the house. When it was just the two of us, he grabbed my hands and pulled me to my feet.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Fang looked at me with a hint of pain in his eyes. For a long time, he didn't even speak. Then, carefully, he said, "You've got one, Max."

My blood froze in my veins. His face was dead serious. I didn't have to ask what he was talking about.

"Quit messing around," I muttered, shoving him halfheartedly, panting. Fang grabbed my wrist.

I cautiously cupped the back of my neck. "Fang?"

He pushed his hand through his hair, looking at me like he actually had no idea what to do. "God, Max. You're marked."

• • •

_Two days later…_

"Alright!" I called, putting on my leader-voice and walking into the house behind the others. "Ange, you need to wash those strawberries, then put 'em in the fridge. We'll make the cake later."

"_We'll _make the cake, Angel," Iggy said. "Max won't touch it, I promise."

I rolled my eyes, too tired to challenge him.

I was pooped. It was already two in the afternoon, and I felt like taking a nap. We'd been strawberry picking since breakfast, and I'd gotten a God-awful headache on the walk back. I'd been chewing the inside of my lip to keep from complaining and or crying from the pain, and now I was positive that the metallic taste in my mouth was blood. I must've bit into my cheek a little hard. I allowed myself the luxury of leaning against the marble counter for a second before propelling myself off and walking across the kitchen.

There was still work to be done. In Casa de Flocka, there was _always _work to be done.

"Yo, feet off the counter! What kind of animal are you, anyways?"

My twelve-year-old Gazzy snorted, jumping off the counter. "I'm a _bird_! I don't have feet, I have talons!" He reached toward me with his fingers curled like claws.

"I'm terrified, trust me," I said, ruffling his hair. He nudged my hand away. I walked across the kitchen and smacked the back of Fang's head.

"No snacking! Make lunch." He turned around, an apple in his mouth and a package of lunchmeat in each hand. He looked at me questioningly.

"Yeah, you," I said. "We're all hungry. Jeez, I seriously need to go to the store."

"Got that right, Mom," Fang said around the apple, pulling out two loaves of bread from the pantry. I made a face at him, stealing his apple. I pulled out a knife and sliced it in half, taking one half and sticking the other back in his mouth. Fang got to work on sandwiches.

"Lunch, a bit of rest, then training at four," I said, pouring myself a glass of water and draining it. It was cool and incredible on my throat. I tried not to sigh as I filled it again, watching madness take place in the kitchen.

"Training?" Gazzy groaned. "On a Saturday?"

"Everyday," I said, ditching the half of the core I'd gotten after finishing my apple. "Everyday until we have to use said training in a life-or-death situation."

"Since when do we train on _Saturdays_?" Nudge moaned.

"Since I said so. Training at four." I snagged three of the sandwiches Fang had whipped up and said, "I'm taking a nap! Don't bother me."

Then I disappeared into my room.

A few minutes later, though, someone came into my room. By the familiar weight added to my mattress, I already knew who it was.

"Yes, when I said 'Don't bother me,' I meant 'Please, Fang, come in my room and _bother _me.'" 

"All you had to do was ask," Fang said, leaning back so his head was by my pillow.

"What do you want?" I mumbled.

"How do you feel?" Fang asked. I turned my head to look at him and saw him finishing off a sandwich. I sat up and looked down at him.

"I'm fine."

He just stared at me, popping the last bite of his sandwich in his mouth. "Training today?"

I sighed. "Don't start with me, okay?"

"We never train on the weekends."

"So? Now we're going to."

"You're tired and it's two in the afternoon."

"It's been a long day," I mumbled, flopping back down onto my bed. It took all of my will power not to groan with relief when my head hit the pillow. "Shut the door on your way out."

Fang shifted on my bed so his face was inches from mine. "What's going on?" he asked lowly.

Fang knew what was going on. I was marked, as Fang, Iggy and I had come to call it. Jeb had explained the expiration dates as marks on the back of your neck, stating when you'd clock out. We just called it marked because expiration date sounded a bit too real. Fang and I had taken up the 'out of sight, out of mind' philosophy when it came to my expiration date. We didn't talk about it. We pretended it wasn't there. Or at least, we would. Until we had to face reality.

He wasn't going to let this go, which was one of the most annoying traits Fang had. I groaned. "My head hurts. Leave me alone."

"You almost passed out today, walking to the field. I know," he said. "What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with _you_?" I countered childishly. "Sheesh, Fang, it's called having a bad day. Get off my back."

He rolled his eyes. "It's called being sick." I could see in his eyes that he thought it was more than that.

"It's called _stress_. I didn't get any sleep, I woke up before the sun, cared for five other people…please allow me to have a headache without admitting me to the hospital. For God's sake."

Maybe if I fought him hard enough, he'd leave me alone. Not likely.

"Don't make them train today," Fang said finally. "Let's all just…rest."

But we couldn't rest. Didn't he see? Didn't he feel the same impending doom that I felt?

Apparently not. Looking at him, I could tell his stomach wasn't in hard, tangled knots. I could tell his mind wasn't pounding inside his skull. He wasn't being plagued with headaches. He didn't feel the same sudden urge I did to make sure these kids knew how and when to hold their own.

It was just me.

"Training at four," I said finally, rolling onto my stomach.

I ignored him until he left.

• • •

"Well, you must've been tired," Fang commented as I stormed into the living room.

At _nine_.

At _night_.

I stood in front of the TV for a few moments before he raised his eyes to look at me.

I couldn't believe it. Was I more angry at myself or him? I mean, I was angry at myself for sleeping _all _day, but I was angry at Fang for _letting _me sleep that long.

"Where are the others?"

"They went to bed. It's pretty late, if you hadn't noticed," Fang said. He leaned back on the couch and lifted the remote.

"Why didn't you wake me?" I demanded.

"You said you hadn't gotten any sleep," Fang said. "So we let you sleep. You obviously needed it."

"Way to undermine me!"

"I didn't," Fang said calmly.

"You left me sleeping so no one would have to practice, like I told them to! You can't do that, Fang. If I say we're training, we're training. If I say we're going to all jump off a cliff with our wings tucked in, we're doing that, too!" I don't know why, but a horrible feeling seized my heart at the fact that we'd lost one day of training. We needed to practice. The others were not _ready_.

Ready for what?

Ready for _what_?

"That would be an incredibly dumb idea, even for you." I paused. It took me a second to even remember what he was talking about. I swear my train of thought was surprisingly slow these days. I glared at him. I just wanted to scream. My head started throbbing - I'd become accustomed to this in the past few days. It had started weeks ago. They were horrible headaches, unlike anything I'd ever felt, and no matter how much Advil or other medication I took, it never ceased. Usually I just hid my pain until I could crawl into my room and wallow in self-pity.

I clenched my fists at my side.

Fang noticed my discomfort. "Head hurt?"

I stared at him angrily. "I can't believe you."

"Quit stressing yourself out. Sit down, relax. Do you need a wet cloth for your head?"

I almost flinched at how he was treating me. "I can handle myself. I hope you know that tomorrow, we're all getting up at five and no one is going to bed until I say so. And you, mister, are going to battle every single one of us until-"

"We sparred without you."

My brain backpedaled. I stammered out a "What?"

Fang shot me a glance. "We sparred without you. You needed the sleep. We were outside until about seven. Everyone was tired so they showered, ate and passed out."

"I don't believe you," I mumbled.

"Iggy has a black eye, Nudge's lip is swollen."

"Like that proves anything," I said. Injuries in this house weren't uncommon.

"Max," Fang sighed, rubbing his forehead tiredly. He was already done with talking.

"Okay, fine," I mumbled, pressing my palms to my forehead, hard. This headache was worse than the previous ones. I tried not to moan in agony.

"Seriously, are you okay?" Fang asked, this time sitting up and swinging his legs off the couch.

As bright and unbearable light exploded behind my eyelids, I gasped out, "Fine. Night." With that I left him dumbfounded, staring after me.

I couldn't let him see me like that. I couldn't let him see me reduced to tears over a freaking headache. When I got to my room, I pushed my door shut and flipped off the lights, hoping maybe that would help with the searing discomfort in my skull. It didn't. I crawled back into bed, this time getting under the covers, and buried my head in my pillow. I felt tears squeeze out of my eyes and wanted to kick myself.

This had to stop.

I couldn't lead like this.

I focused on my breathing, taking a deep breath and holding it for a few seconds before slowly, slowly releasing it. I moaned, pressing my hands hard to my head, trying to ease the pain with pressure. Eventually, the pain was so bad that I blacked out.

Thank God.

**A/N: I really should not be starting this story yet but I don't care. Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks so much! I can't believe I already got so many reviews…I am very excited to share this story with you guys. The below quote is from one of my _all-time favorite_ authors and one of my _all-time favorite_ books. It's definitely worth checking out. **

"Oftentimes,  
when I read a book,  
I want to savor,  
each word,  
each phrase,  
each page,  
loving the prose so much,  
I don't want it  
to end.

Other times,  
the story pulls me in,  
and I can hardly  
read fast enough,  
the details flying by,  
some of them lost  
because all that matters  
is making sure  
the character  
is all right  
when it's over."

- Lisa Schroeder, _The Day Before_

MAX

I wanted to say it made me feel good to know Fang was worried about me. That when I saw him watching me with concern in his eyes, it gave me comfort. Someone cared. Someone was there for me. I think that should've made me feel a little better about this whole situation. Like, sure, it really sucked; but Fang was with me. And that was better than being alone…right?

Wrong. I didn't feel good knowing Fang was worried about me. Knowing he cared about me. I didn't feel comfort when I saw the concern in his eyes. It actually tore me up inside.

He cared. He cared, and I couldn't appreciate him enough for being there for me, but shit… he shouldn't have cared. One of us has the expiration date on their neck, and the other one was going to end up taking the fall all the same.

All because he cared.

I shook my head to erase the inevitable, depressing train of thought and poured the last three pain pills out of the bottle from the cabinet into my hand. I downed them with a glass of apple juice.

"I'm going to go into town today," I said, looking across the room at Fang, who was sitting at the kitchen table.

"You bought those two days ago," Fang said, looking pointedly at the empty bottle on the counter. I looked away from him and tossed the bottle into the trash.

"I'll go," Fang said. I sent him a cursory glance before opening the pantry and cataloguing the empty shelves.

"_You _want to go _shopping_?"

He looked up at me.

"Oh. You _don't _want _me _to go." I leaned back against the counter, daring him to say that was the reason. Fang squared his shoulders, his face void of emotion. I continued breezily, "So, you think I'll go shopping and just drop dead or something?"

Fang was visibly bothered by my joke, but he shrugged. "At least if you drop dead here, someone will find you," Fang said. "Eventually."

I frowned.

"You were up all night."

"Insomnia," I said, feeling my irritation grow at his tone. "You used to have it, too."

"Still do," Fang said, rolling his eyes. "How else do you think I heard you crying?"

"I was _not_," I refuted immediately. Fang and I then endured a staring contest that went on for minutes until Gazzy came into the kitchen.

"Hey, kiddo," I said, trying my damnedest to sound chipper. "Cereal?"

"Sure," he said, giving me a weird look. Apparently, chipper is not my style. Good. I was making my own head throb. "What kind?"

"The only kind we got," I said, setting down a bowl-full of Frosted Flakes in front of him. I uncapped the milk and pour a generous amount over his cereal. "Don't worry, Fang'll buy more today."

"When you go shopping, you should get Fruit Loops," he said to Fang, scooping up a spoonful and shoveling it into his mouth.

"Good idea," I said. "You think of anything else you want, put it on a list. Don't go crazy. We have a budget."

We'd been living off the stash of money and credit cards Jeb had left when he…disappeared. Fang and I had spent an entire day when we were twelve teaching ourselves to sign _Jeb Batchelder _with flourish. I made sure never to go over a certain amount every week, but we'd never had trouble with any of his credit cards or anything. Still, we never really splurged or bought more than we needed to.

"Speaking of lists," Iggy said, walking into the kitchen. He handed Gazzy a piece of notebook paper. Gazzy slid it across the table to Fang. I went behind Fang's chair and read the short, messy script over his shoulder. "We need some stuff."

"Why do you need a new pair of wire cutters?" Better yet, why did they need half of this crap?

"Ignorance is bliss, Max," Iggy said.

I rolled my eyes. A long, deep yawn drew my attention to the hallway. I turned around to see Nudge pushing her fluffy hair over her shoulders. Her lip was still a bit swollen, just as Fang had said. I pulled her to me and examined her.

"Whose damage?" I asked.

She frowned. "Does it really look that bad? Because I iced it last night, like Iggy told me to, and it was bleeding a lot yesterday too but it's gone down a lot and I almost thought it wasn't noticeable but I guess it is and now I should probably ice it again because it makes my face looks lopsided…"

I just watched her blab until she slowly got quieter and quieter. "Fang," she answered shortly. Then she pushed past me and examined her warped reflection in the microwave window.

I glanced at Fang. "What happened?"

Nudge looked at me. "What do you mean?"

"He looks fine," I said, pointing at Fang. "You let him get the best of you like that? Did you even try?"

Nudge's eyebrows drew together. "He's a tough opponent, Max. _You _lose to him sometimes, too, you know."

I just shrugged. What I really wanted to do was tell her that no matter how tough her opponents were, she always, always, always had to win. No matter what.

I kept my mouth shut.

"Breakfast?" Nudge begged, easily brushing my standoffish mood aside. "I'm starving."

"Hmm…" I opened the fridge and looked around, hoping something would draw my attention. Aha! "Cinnamon rolls?"

"_Yes_," Nudge exhaled. "Are you going shopping?"

"Fang's going," I said. Then I mumbled, "Because he doesn't trust me to go out on my own."

"What? Why?"

I glanced up, realizing that was louder than I'd intended. The other heads in the room swiveled to look at Fang in surprise. He just shook his head, getting up to pour more coffee into his mug.

I sighed. "I'm going to take a shower," I said.

"Max-"

"What, Fang?" I snarled. "Do I need to take a chaperon into the bathroom, too?"

I exhaled slowly, trying to regain some composure. I felt everyone's eyes widening in surprise. I mean, sure, I yell at Fang all the time, but I do it when we're _alone_.

I didn't even wait for him to say what he'd been about to say. I just stormed down the hall into the small bathroom, squeezing my eyes shut. For some reason, the quick movement down the hall made my head spin. What the hell was wrong with me? I felt like every movement made me dizzy.

I looked up into the mirror at my reflection. My eyesight was blurry. I moaned, pressing my hand to my head, trying to calm down. Usually, the spotted vision and dizziness passed after a few seconds. My head felt heavy. I leaned down, splashing my face with cold water. When I stood up straight again, my eyesight was back to normal.

A throbbing ache crept up my neck and scalp as I got ready to shower. I cranked the water as hot as it would go and stripped, then stepped into the burning stream. The ache had reached my temples. My eye sockets were throbbing with unbearable pain. I staggered, trying to suppress the pain. Usually it was easy for my body to suppress pain. Then again, whenever I did that, it was always a sharp pain from a kick or the burn of a cut on my skin - all pain inflicted from outside forces.

This…was coming from inside me.

And I couldn't suppress it.

• • •

Fang left after Max disappeared down the hall. He flew for almost five minutes before he realized, in all his stressing about Max, he'd forgotten to grab a credit card. Quickly, he switched his direction and headed back for the house. At least he had realized this _before _he'd gotten to the check out.

When he entered the house again, Iggy, Gazzy and Angel were in the living room, watching some kid's show. It was Monday morning, around ten. Nudge was down the hall, pounding on the bathroom door.

"Max!" she wailed in annoyance. "Hurry up! I need to pee! Max!"

Fang almost walked by without a second thought. Max was taking a long shower and hogging the bathroom - that wasn't new.

But the fact that Max wasn't yelling at Nudge to wait her damn turn…that was.

Fang stopped in front of the bathroom door and gently pushed Nudge aside. He pounded his fist on the door three times. "Max? Are you okay?"

Nothing.

"Of course she's okay," Nudge huffed angrily. "She's using all the hot water. She's freakin' fantastic."

"No," Fang said shortly. All of his stressing about Max was obviously for a reason, since something was definitely wrong. He didn't really want to break the lock on the one room where everyone needed privacy, but waiting for Ig to pick the lock would've taken too long.

Fang muttered a curse under his breath and shoved his shoulder against the door, hard. He did it twice, then the third time the door burst open with a click. Steam from the hot shower floated out into the hallway.

A heavy, sick feeling that had been with him for days suddenly made it hard to breathe. He'd known something was off, when Max first started getting bad headaches. She was his best friend, it'd be thick of him not to notice. She had been good at hiding it from them, at first. But lately, they'd gotten worse. She'd had trouble making it home from the field. She'd stayed up all night, sobbing and moaning in pain. Now she was passing out in the damn shower.

By now, Nudge had realized something was wrong. Obviously, if Max had heard someone breaking into the bathroom, she would've flipped shit.

"Fang, maybe you shouldn't-"

But he pulled the shower curtain back anyways, because the fact that he was invading Max's privacy was totally washed out by the possibility that she was unconscious.

He couldn't help it. When he pulled back the curtain, he cracked a grin. Of course, Max would. Even though she was going through a world of pain and passing out, she'd grabbed her robe and pulled it over _most _of her body, to avoid embarrassment of being found unconscious in the shower.

"Nudge, back up," Fang said. He leaned forward and turned off the water. Max had gotten her left arm into the right sleeve of her robe, and most of her skin was covered from view. He leant down and scooped her up. Her hands, which had been clutching her head, fell limp when he lifted her from the shower floor. Nudge gasped.

"Fang!" she cried, her tone desperate for him to do something.

He walked past her, without a word, and pushed into Max's room. Nudge quickly followed.

"Dry her off," Fang mumbled. "Get her some clothes."

"Where are you going?" Nudge demanded. "What's wrong with her?"

"Town," Fang answered shortly. "I'll be back soon."

Fang went down the hall, into Jeb's office, and grabbed one of the credit cards lying in the filing cabinet. On his way out, the others looked at him.

"What's going on? We heard Nudge-"

"Watch Max. I'll be back in an hour."

• • •

When I woke up, it was to the sound of someone coming into my room and closing the door with a soft thud. I blinked rapidly, my eyes adjusting. My bedroom light was off, and it seemed to be dark outside. I looked up from my bed at Fang, who was carrying a bottle of pain killers and a glass of water.

"To answer your question: yes," he said, his eyes searching my face for telltale signs of pain, "you _do _need a chaperone in the bathroom. Apparently."

I glanced down at myself. I was in a pair of long sweatpants Iggy had grown out of and a grey t-shirt.

"Weird," I mumbled. "I remember being in the shower. I don't remember getting dressed."

"Nudge is a miracle worker, among other talents," Fang said. He sat down on the edge of my bed and dropped three pills into my hand. He fitted the cool glass of water into the other. As I downed the pain killers, he said, "Next time you're going to pass out, get out of the shower first."

"Who found me?"

"Guilty," Fang said. "Great attempt at modesty, by the way."

I sighed. "I figured it could be Gaz, it could be Nudge…didn't want to scar anyone."

Fang nodded at the clock. "It's almost ten."

I chewed that over. "So, whatever it is that's causing my horrible headaches also makes me sleep for the entire day."

"I'm not going to lie," Fang said softly. "We didn't do any training today."

I opened my mouth, my face screwing up in anger, when he said, "I think you're getting a new power."

I shut my mouth. Honestly, the thought had never occurred to me. The ideas that had come to mind when I thought about my symptoms were more along the lines of _brain tumor_. It was like WebMD in my head, I swear.

But, now that Fang had entertained the thought of a new power, it made a hell of a lot more sense. Jeb had told us that any new powers we developed had the possibility of having nasty side effects. Maybe my skull-splitting headaches were a sign I was about to get, like, x-ray vision.

Unlikely.

"What if it isn't a new power? What if it's just, like, my body shutting down? My DNA unraveling? What then?"

Fang scratched his head. "Get some sleep, Max."

I scoffed, pushing my blankets off and swinging my legs out of bed. "You wish you could tell me what to do."

Fang shrugged and left my room. I, not one to like being left behind, followed him.

"I can't believe you didn't spar today," I said lowly as I sunk onto the couch next to him. "If you're going to learn how to do this whole 'leader' thing, you've got to quit being such a softie."

I reached forward and grabbed the remote and starting flipping through channels. I pushed my feet onto Fang's lap and laid back. He sat completely still until I looked over at him. He was frowning at me.

"What?"

He shrugged. His jaw was set, though, and I could tell he was angry. "So that's it, huh? You're just giving up like that?"

The fact that Fang could even think that just meant that he obviously didn't know me as I well as I thought he did. "Are you serious? Have I ever, ever been known to go down without a fight? If you think I'm going to sit around and just let this happen, then you need to think again. I can't believe you even said that."

"You just-"

"Think about it, Fang. How often do things in our lives work out the way we want them to?" I looked down and started picking at a string on my sweats to avoid looking him in the eye. "We need to have a back-up plan. Right now, my back-up plan is that you take my place."

Fang leaned his head back on the couch, staying quiet.

"Ugh. Let's watch something. Change the subject."

"Good idea." Fang pushed my feet off his lap and went over to the TV. Next to it, in a pile on the floor, were a few DVDs that we'd bought over the years. He grabbed a movie and held it up to me.

"Good choice," I said with approval. Fang put _The Dark Knight Rises _in the DVD player.

As the movie started, Fang and I settled into comfortable silence. My head, for once, was not throbbing uncontrollably.

"Christian Bale is a panty-dropper," I said, opening a can of soda. I took a long drink, then glanced at Fang. He was smirking at me. "What?"

"Nothing. I just never knew Batman was the star of your hot and steamy dreams, Max."

I snorted. "Oh, yeah. Totally."

"You know, Batman and I have a lot in common," Fang said with a grin.

I rolled my eyes. "Right?"

His eyes glinted. "So, technically, I star in your hot and steamy dreams, too."

I sat forward. "Yeah, Fang. You and Batman are the two main stars of my dreams. _Way _hot."

Fang frowned. That had not gone in the direction he'd been hoping. I laughed at the look of realization on his face. He opened his mouth to retort, closed it, then decided to say, "No comment."

I smirked.

During the movie, Fang and I moved and tried to get comfortable. By the end of the movie, we were leaning on each other, and I was half asleep.

"Fang?"

He grunted in response. He was leaning on the arm of the couch and I was leaning on him. His arm shifted under my neck, probably trying to get the blood rushing again.

"You think I should make, like, a bucket list?"

It was really cliché, when I thought about it…but who cares? I was dying. I had only a limited amount of time left. Damn it, I wanted it to count. If there was anything I could control, it was what I did with my life while I was still living it.

Fang was quiet for a second. At first, I thought I'd upset him. Then, he said, "And put what on it? Huh?"

I thought for a second. Our lives could be summed up in two parts: part one, the School. Part two, the E house. We'd never really experienced the real world. The closest we'd ever come to interaction with normal people in a normal environment was, well, going to the grocery store.

"I don't know," I mumbled. "I guess it's stupid."

"I don't know," Fang said uncertainly. "You could have, like, _hook up with Batman _on there, or something."

I narrowed my eyes. "I'm going pretend that you didn't just reference yourself."

"I have no idea what your talking about."

I rolled my eyes. The credits started rolling and I groaned, rolling over to face the back of the couch. My headache was back with a vengeance. Fang laid still next to me as I clutched my head, taking slow, deep breaths.

"Seriously, do I need to be worried?" he breathed. "What's going on with you?"

"I don't know," I moaned miserably. "Do you think it's just because I'm…you know…marked?"

"No," Fang said honestly. "I snooped through the files in Jeb's old office, the ones from the School. There weren't any specifics about expiration dates, but there was something about certain mutations and powers that would cause side effects."

"Yeah? Which power is causing my brain to explode?" I asked, my voice muffled by the couch. "Tell me it's immortality."

Fang started running his fingers through my hair, pulling it back from my face and twisting it around his fingers. "Max?"

"Hm?"

"We're going to be okay."

"I know, Fang," I mumbled. "I know you'll take care of them."

Fang sighed. "I meant _us_, Max."

It didn't matter; I was already asleep.

**A/N: Please tell me what you thought. I'd love to hear from you! And...honestly, I am really, really excited for the next chapter. SO, review and I can upload again soon. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you so much for such awesome reviews! I have to say - did not expect this. Will you guys ever stop surprising me? **

**HEY EVERYBODY. A lot of people have been asking me for some recommendations, and I know I give you all plenty of real book recommendations, but what about FFs? No worries. I know what will quell your need for a good Max Ride FF. Ready? Go check out my BFFL, **_**desperatelyobvious. **_**She has literally taught me so much about FF and writing in general, and her stories are excellent. Like, I am jealous of her. She currently is working on one of my favorite fanfictions everrr, called Secrets and Lies. It's a fantastic Max-gets-her-expiration-date story. An obsession of mine, for sure. You'll probably read all fifty-something chapters in one day and then re-read it because you just want it all to happen again. Seriously. **

**Okay, little rant aside…**

**ATTN: The below quote is from one of the **_**most **_**heart-wrenching books **_**ever**_**. It is definitely on my must-read list. Grab some tissues for this one. **

"You never look up, in a moment that feels like every other moment of your life, and think _Soon this will be over. _But I understand more now. About how life works."

-Nina LaCour, _Hold Still_

MAX

"Max? What are you _doing_?"

I'd heard that tone of voice a million times. Usually, it was right before I did something unforgettably awesome. Like, from Jeb, when I was twelve, about three minutes before I'd broken Fang's collarbone. From Iggy, when we were thirteen, right before we'd realized that my cooking was about as helpful as an atomic bomb. From Nudge, when I was thirteen and I was giving myself a haircut in the bathroom with a knife. From Fang, when…okay, pretty much every day.

Today was no exception. It was early, about six, and the kids were all still inside and still sleeping. Fang and I had gone outside and, instead of taking off to go flying, I started walking toward the forest, munching purposefully on my granola bar. He followed me, because, um, what else was he going to do?

Anyways, Fang and I walked through the forest until I came across the right tree. It towered over us, but still had a lot of low, sturdy branches; Fang and I had flown up into this tree a million times and sat for hours. But…

"I've never climbed a tree."

Fang stepped up next to me, his bicep brushing my shoulder. He was taller than me, which was one of the most annoying things in the world - even more annoying than never finding a matching pair of socks. _Yeah_. He glanced down at me, but I continued eyeing the tree, strategizing the best way up.

"So?"

"So? I'm seventeen and I've never climbed a tree," I said. "I want to."

"Why?"

"What's stopping me? It's not like I'm afraid of heights, Fang. I don't really have an excuse not to, do I?"

Fang gave me a look. "Except that you can just fly up there, no problem."

"But I don't want to just fly up there," I mumbled. "You coming, or not?"

Fang frowned at me. He knew I was determined to climb the tree, and he knew he wouldn't be able to talk me out of it.

"What if you get a headache and fall, huh? What then?"

"Like I've never fallen before."

Feeling like he and I both took that statement the wrong way, I walked toward the tree and tried to ignore the heat on my face and neck.

Fang grumbled angrily behind me until finally he said, "I guess I'll stay down here and spot you."

I grabbed the first branch and, with my strong arms, hoisted myself up onto it. I peered down at him, swinging my feet. "I hate to break it to you, but you spotting me ain't gonna do me any good. Just get your ass up here. This is on my bucket list."

Truthfully, I hadn't really made one. But I figured I could use it as an excuse just to get Fang to give in to me. It worked.

"Tree climbing with Fang?" Fang muttered sarcastically. "Right next to ride a rhinoceros."

I gasped. "Fang, did you read my bucket list? That's private!"

Fang rolled his eyes. I shoved my foot into the tight space where the huge trunk split in two and balanced myself there so Fang could pull himself up. "Yeah. Saw my name on there, Max. What gives?"

I burst out with laughter, letting my head fall back. _To-do before I die: Fang._ As if.

"You wish."

"Yeah, maybe," Fang responded coyly.

I rolled my eyes, but again felt myself blush. Three years ago, I would've written it off as Fang just joking around. Now, I wasn't so sure. I reached up and grabbed another branch, then pulled myself up and braced both my feet against the trunk.

"Max, I swear, if you fall-"

"What are you going to do about it? Cry?" I sneered at him. He frowned.

"You're a brat," Fang said flatly. I smirked and pulled myself up onto the next branch.

"Shit, Fang. Don't look down," I joked.

He rolled his eyes. Being comfortable with heights _kind _of came with the lifestyle.

After about five minutes, Fang and I had gone almost as high as we could. Most of the branches above me were too thin and brittle to hold my weight. I tested the branch at the height of my forehead and, once I deemed it sturdy enough, tried to hoist myself up onto it with all my strength - maybe too _much _strength.

_Riiiiiiip! _My shirt caught on a knot of the trunk and ripped up the middle, almost tearing my entire shirt open.

"Stupid shirt," I grumbled. "Hold me steady."

"What are you doing _now_?" Fang asked, but reached up and grabbed the back of my thigh, anyways. With Fang's help, I balanced myself enough to yank my shirt up over my head. With a disappointed sigh, I let it drop to the forest below. I was still in my sport bra, so I wasn't naked or anything, but who enjoys ripping a shirt? Like, seriously.

"When I saw Mile High Club on your bucket list, I didn't think you meant-"

"Shut it." I cracked my knuckles and once again latched onto the branch. With a grunt, I pulled myself up onto it and smirked down at Fang. "Come on."

The sun was coming up, and I could see it just appearing over the canyon. We weren't that high up, maybe thirty or forty feet - nothing compared to flying. But the view was still breathtaking and I was suddenly filled with…I don't know. Some emotion that made it a little hard to breathe. Moments like these, amazing moments, made the mark on the back of my neck itch. I hated thinking about dying, but at the same time…how could I not?

I scooted out on the branch and Fang lifted himself up next to me, sitting between my body and the trunk. I turned to look at him.

"Thanks," I said, bumping his shoulder with mine. "For following me up."

"Unfortunately, Max," Fang said quietly, bumping my shoulder back, "I think I'd follow you just about anywhere."

• • •

"Do you think we should tell them?" Fang said.

I shook my head, pulling on a hoodie. We'd gotten back to the house and the others had already been up, eating a hearty breakfast of French toast and bacon. It wasn't odd for Fang and I to go out before sunrise come back during breakfast, so we'd disappeared down the hall without much commotion.

"We can't, Fang."

Fang rubbed his forehead, his eyebrows drawn together. "They should know. They deserve to know."

"You know what they deserve? Parents," I said. "But all they have is you and me. We're all they've got."

I shoved my hands in my pockets, leaning against the doorframe and staring at him.

"We can't take that away from them. We're the only stable thing they have."

Fang looked down at me, the glint in his eyes stirring something inside me. That happened a lot lately. Fang and I had always been close, practically since birth, and it was totally different when we were kids. Fang was my best friend, not some boy that I could possibly have feelings for. He wasn't a young man; he was just Fang. Now, Fang was a _young man_, in every sense of the term. Now a whole bunch of other…_things _were surfacing. We were seventeen, roughly, and I guess all those weird feelings just came with the territory.

"How'd you sleep, by the way?"

I shrugged. "Well, I actually got some, if that's what you're asking. I think three hours is my personal best."

Fang smirked. He followed me down the hall into the kitchen, where the others were happily munching on breakfast.

"We're racing today. Then sparring. If we finish by three, I have a surprise," I said. Fang looked at me curiously and I grinned. That's right. I had a few tricks up my sleeve. The others murmured excitedly, the word 'surprise' sparking their enthusiasm drastically.

When breakfast was over, we went outside. The race was simple; through the woods, to the other side of the canyon and back. Not too challenging; it would be hardest for Fang, Nudge, Iggy and I because of the size of our wings.

Flying through the woods could be either the most exhilarating experience of one's live or the _last _experience of one's live. A lot of focus and precision was necessary. Training Nudge had been the hardest, because of her thin attention span (_omigod, did you see that bunny?!_), but it was always a challenge. Especially if you threw speed into the equation. Flying alone is difficult in the forest, but when you're racing (or, let's say, running for you life), it takes on a whole new level of tough.

The trick was to fly almost sideways, to your wings didn't whack any tree trunks. Also, you had to be careful not to fly too high or the branches would really scratch you up. Learned that lesson the hard way.

Today, we were flying in threes. Nudge's wingspan was somewhere between Iggy's and Gazzy's, so she was racing Angel and Gaz. Fang, Ig and I were pitted against each other. We'd done this route more than any of the little kids, and not without injuries. I'd probably broken bones at least three times just by dodging a split-second too late.

"Don't cry when you lose, boys," I said, yanking off my hoodie, leaving me in my tank top. "It's not attractive."

"Whatever," Iggy scoffed. "My head could fall off and I'd still be attractive."

"I…don't even know what to say to that," I said. Fang laughed from a few yards down from me. We were starting a few yards back from the tree line. I'd been doing this for years, timing myself, seeing how fast I could get through the forest and back without breaking my face on a tree trunk. Two minutes and fifty seconds was my best time. Fang's time wasn't too far behind mine. Iggy was surprisingly good at this particular racing course; I'd broken more bones than he ever has.

"On your marks, get set…Go!" Gazzy cried.

The three of us took off, Fang and Iggy just blurs in my peripheral vision as we disappeared into the forest. The trees came up faster than you'd expect, and each tiny flick of the wings moves you a mile. It's all about dodging at the right time with the right angle. I burst through the trees in less than a minute and poured on the speed, pushing myself. I could already see Fang only a few feet ahead of me, Iggy keeping up with my pace. I gritted my teeth. As soon as I reached the edge of the canyon I turned, watching Fang disappear into the trees. I poured on the speed, harder than ever before, and shot into the forest. The trees popped out at me insanely fast. I was dying in roughly three months, and I'd be damned if I lost a fight with a freakin' tree, though, so I dodged and weaved around trees like it was my _job_.

Finally, when I shot out of the forest, Fang was already lying on his back, panting.

"I win," Fang bragged through rugged breaths. I rolled my eyes. Iggy burst out of the forest, and practically skidded to a stop.

"_Shit_," he wheezed, landing and bending over, his hands on his knees. "Haven't done that in a while."

I laughed, falling to my butt in the grass. "I think I almost died, like, three times."

The word _died _made Fang flinch, but I'm sure I was the only one who noticed.

"Okay, you three are up. Ready?"

"Born ready," Gazzy said, jumping up in down at his starting place. I smirked.

"Good. Let's see what you got." I counted down and they were off, all three of the shooting into the forest as if their lives depended on it. I smiled.

Then, I glanced at Fang. He stood and shook out his wings. "On it."

He shot into the air and flew up over the trees, watching below to make sure none of them wiped out too badly. Iggy and I stood next to each other, waiting.

After almost four minutes, Gazzy exploded from the forest like a rocket, whooping loudly when he only saw Iggy and I.

"Yes!"

Nudge was a split second after him. She let herself collapse on the ground, gasping, as the Gasman gloated. He leaned down in her face and cried, "I finally beat you! _Loser_!" Harmless, joking stuff. You know.

Then, Nudge kicked him in the stomach and he was down.

"Hey, save it for sparring," I said sternly, watching Angel appear. She was gasping for breath, but looked okay to me. That was the first time we'd all survived the race without a scratch. Impressive.

"Okay. Gaz, Fang, you two are up," I said. I leaned against one of the trees because I was feeling dizzy and watched the two of them size each other up. Fang, as always, waited for Gazzy to make the first move.

"Usually it's Nudge," Fang said thoughtfully, trying to distract the Gasman from the fight. "How'd you beat her?"

"Come _on_, Fang," Gazzy said, unfazed by Fang's attempt of distraction. "Didn't you tell me that boys can do anything better than girls can?"

Gazzy punched Fang, and Fang quickly turned the attack around, bringing Gazzy into a headlock. He glanced at me, and my eyebrows shot into my hairline.

"Never said that," he said, grinning.

"Yeah, you said-"

Fang punched Gazzy in the gut. "Why don't you focus on the fight, huh?"

Gazzy frowned, kicking Fang in the knee then following up with a hard sucker punch in the stomach. Gazzy was definitely learning well. Fang was totally going easy on him, but it was still great practice for the Gasman.

"Ow, Fang! Cut it out!" Gazzy whined as Fang hit him so hard he fell.

"What?" Fang looked amusedly down on Gazzy, waiting for him to get to his feet. "You can't ask me to stop. In a _real _fight-"

"Fang, quit being a dick."

Fang frowned at me. Gazzy took the split second that Fang was focused on me to punch him in the face. Fang recoiled.

"What the-"

"Language!" Angel called, knowing full-well what Fang was going to say.

"Fang, in a real fight-"

Fang ignored me. He tackled the Gasman to the ground and started hitting him in the stomach; he was still holding back, a lot, but the Gasman was suddenly fueled with furious energy and started whaling on Fang right back. It was kind of amusing to watch.

"One minute!" I called. The two of them started wrestling with more vigor, hitting each other and rolling the other one over. In the end, Fang's weight easily overruled Gazzy's and he pinned him.

"Good effort, Gaz," I commented. "Okay, Nudge. You and me."

Mine and Nudge's fight was almost even, except for the fact that I'd been fighting and training longer than she had. Plus, I was the only other person Iggy and Fang fought with all their might. Even though Nudge was fourteen now, they still went easy on her - despite her constant complaints of how 'she's so totally not a baby, _duh_.'

I won, and then it was Iggy and Angel. You'd think it would be a quick match, but Angel was evil when it came to sparring. She once made Fang head-butt a tree. Funny as hell. Anyways, I had no idea who'd win this time.

In the end, it was Angel. She was very stealthy, just stealthy enough to sneak up and slam Iggy to the ground.

"Are you okay?" Angel asked sweetly, helping Iggy up.

"Don't do that. Don't attack me, then go all sweet and innocent. It's really damn creepy."

"What time is it? What time is it?" Gazzy asked, jumping up and down. Fang glanced at his watch.

"One thirty."

The kids started jumping up and down, asking what my surprise was. I shot a glance at Fang and hoped he didn't think I was crazy for what I said next.

"Okay, okay," I said, smiling at them. "We're all going out to lunch."

The reaction was instantaneous. The others started shouting and exclaiming; half of them had never left the house more than twice, and if they had, it was to go grocery shopping. We'd never, _ever _eaten at a restaurant. And we'd never all left the house at once before.

Which was why I thought we needed the experience. A memory. A good one.

I caught Fang's gaze and he nodded. I clapped my hands together. "Okay! Everyone go get cleaned up. We leave in five."

• • •

"Oh, and normal people don't eat as much as we do, guys," I said. "So let's eat here and then, when we get home, Iggy can make dinner. Oh, and-"

"Lighten up, Max," Iggy said breezily, making Fang chuckle behind me. "We're getting pizza, not robbing a bank."

"_Can _we rob a bank?" Gazzy asked excitedly.

"No," I said, just as Fang said, "Not today." Fang pulled the door open and a little bell jingled over our heads. I led the others into the pizza parlor. Fang and I had gotten pizzas here once before; we'd ordered, like, twenty to-go, and the cashier had given us two free bottles of soda for our 'party'.

"You each get one pizza," I said firmly, glancing up at the prices. I already knew this place took credit cards, which meant I was about to become _Mr. Jeb Batchelder_.

"Just _one_?" Gazzy whined, then shut up when I gave him a look. I'd given them all a very stern talking-to on the flight here, and I wanted nooooo funny business. "That's okay, I only wanted one, anyways."

"Nudge, would you _stop _with the flicking already?" I heard Fang say with irritation. I glanced over at him. Angel was next to him, reading the menu. Nudge, on the other hand, was busy flicking Fang's ear and then looking away innocently. Fang frowned at me and said, "I swear, bringing them out in public is like putting them on a strict-sugar diet."

I elbowed him. "_Lighten up_, Fang."

Fang rolled his eyes. He glanced up at the menu while black spots fuzzily appeared at the edges of my vision. I blinked. "What are you getting?"

"Dizzy," I mumbled. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom. Watch them."

Fang nodded and turned his attention to Angel, who was asking if anchovies were good or not. I weaved through the tables and found my way to the women's restroom. There, I felt like I might get sick, so I locked myself in one of the stalls. My head was pounding; had been ever since we'd left the house. There were black spots dancing in my vision and I sat back on my knees so that if I passed out, I didn't fall face first into the toilet.

_Twenty-four, sixty-three, seven, zero, zero, eight. _

Oh, God. Something else - a voice that was not my own - started repeating a random string of numbers. Each number was like a hammer to my temple.

"Hey, Max? Fang wants to know…Max?"

Nudge must've seen me sitting on the floor in one of the stalls, because she started knocking on the stall door.

"Max? Are you sick?"

_Twenty-four, sixty-three, seven, zero, zero, eight. _

"Oh, my God," I groaned, clutching my head. The numbers were getting louder, repeating over and over again in my brain, bouncing around in my skull.

"Max? Should I go get Fang?"

Yeah, and bring him into the girl's bathroom? "No…" I moaned out slowly. "One…second…"

_Twenty-four, sixty-three, seven, zero, zero, eight. _

"Max, you're freaking me out."

I fisted my hair in my hands and tugged, as if I could expand my head that way and make room for the loud, screaming numbers. What did they _mean_?

_Twenty-four, sixty-three, seven, zero, zero, eight. _

"Shut up!" I cried, squeezing my eyes shut.

"Max, please-"

"Hang on!" I said angrily. "Give me a minute, Nudge. God."

Nudge went silent. Eventually, the numbers resided, too, and I was able to stand shakily and unlock the stall door. Nudge was standing, completely still and wide-eyed, by the sinks. I walked over to her and splashed my face with cold water from the sink. She handed me two paper towels.

"Did you just have a seizure or something?" Nudge asked nervously. "Is this like what happened in the shower, except you didn't pass out? Did you get sick? Are you-"

"I'm _fine_," I said, gripping the sink tightly. "Fine. Just a little dizzy, that's all."

"Okay," she said unsurely, but followed me out of the bathroom regardless. "Fang wants to know-"

"I got you pepperoni and mushroom," Fang said, knowing it was my favorite. He pushed himself off the wall by the restroom door and led me and Nudge back to the others.

"I wonder how you _possibly _guessed that one," I mumbled, sinking into my seat at the table the kids had chosen.

"You okay?" Fang asked lowly so only we could hear.

"Fine," I said. "Just went fucking insane in the bathroom, that's all."

"What?"

I glanced at the kids; they were all deep in their own conversations. I really didn't want to admit this out loud, but…

God, Fang was going to think I was a schizoid.

"I heard a voice when I was in the bathroom. A voice in my _head_."

Fang stared at me.

"I know, it's impossible," I said wearily. "I know."

I put my head in my hands.

"What'd it say?"

My head shot up and I looked at him in surprise. "You believe me?"

"No, I think you're joking," Fang said sarcastically. I felt the urge to smack him. "This could explain your headaches. Maybe the School," we both glanced at the others to make sure they weren't listening to us, "is in your head some how."

"Shit," I breathed. "If it is, that's not good news, Fang."

Fang knew that, though. "What'd it say?"

"Just a bunch of numbers," I said, shrugging. Over and over again.

_Twenty-four, sixty-three, seven, zero, zero, eight. _

I dug my forefingers into my temples, groaning lowly.

"What's wrong?" Iggy mumbled, leaning over.

"I-"

_Twenty-four, sixty-three, seven, zero, zero, eight. _

"Gah!" I clutched my head. The others were all watching me, now.

_Twenty-four, sixty-three, seven, zero, zero, eight. _

"Max?" Fang put his hand on my knee and leaned closer to me, speaking softly.

_Twenty-four, sixty-three, seven, zero, zero, eight. _

"It hurts," I barely got out. I dropped one of my hands from my head and grabbed Fang's wrist. "I can't-"

_Twenty-four, sixty-three, seven, zero, zero, eight. _

"What's wrong with her?" Iggy asked. When Fang didn't answer, Iggy breathed soothingly, "What hurts, Max?"

_Twenty-four, sixty-three, seven, zero, zero, eight. Twenty-four, sixty-three, seven, zero, zero, eight. Twenty-four, sixty-three, seven, zero, zero, eight. _

"Everything."

I barely had enough consciousness to hear Fang sarcastically mumble, "Well, that's perfect."

And then I passed out.

• • •

"-might as well tell me what the hell is going on, because I know you two are hiding something. Max has been sick for weeks, the two of you were talking about the School today…_what is happening_? Are we in trouble?"

I sat up slowly, levering myself up on my elbows. "Unh…"

"Just, lay down," Fang said stressfully, as if he didn't have time for my shit. I frowned. He began updating me before I even asked. "You passed out again, made a huge scene in the pizza parlor. The shop owner tried to take you to the hospital but we weaseled out of there before he could call an ambulance."

"Great. I ruined lunch," I mumbled, slowly opening my eyes. Iggy, Fang and I were all in my room. Iggy was sitting on the floor, looking angrily at Fang and I. Fang was sitting next to me on my bed.

"Nah, we got our pizzas to-go, yours is in the fridge," Fang said. "Takes more than a passed-out Max to ruin our appetites." I smiled, and Fang looked a bit triumphant to have made me grin in such a sucky situation. "They wanted to wait for you to wake up, but it's almost ten, so we sent them to bed."

I nodded, then looked at Iggy. "And what are you whining about?"

"You two are keeping a secret from us," Iggy said. "You're a _mess_-"

"Hey!" I protested loudly, then winced at the loudness of my own voice.

"You cry yourself to sleep, Max. As if the blind kid can't hear through a damn wall?"

I sat back. He had a point. I didn't want to tell him about my expiration date, but I figured it couldn't hurt to tell him about my head problems.

"…I've been having really bad headaches."

"That make you cry and pass out?"

"Kind of? I don't know… Yeah," I mumbled, scratching my head. "And today…I heard a voice."

Iggy's face opened a bit and he nodded. "Max, I've heard of this."

"You have?" I inquired warily.

Iggy's face split into a smirk. "Yeah, it's called schizophrenia."

"Shut up," I said, throwing my pillow at him. "I'm not insane. Fang and I think it's a new power."

"The power to hear…voices?" Iggy tried despondently.

I sighed miserably. "One voice."

As if that made it any better.

"Okay," Fang said. "We have a serious decision to make."

Iggy nodded somberly. "Right. All in favor of buying Max a straightjacket, say _Aye_."

**A/N: Review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Weirdly enough, I have nothing to say. Thanks for all the support. **

"It all made perfect sense, and at the same time, nothing seemed to make sense at all."

- Nicholas Sparks, _A Walk to Remember_

MAX

Nudge threw a _tantrum _when Gazzy shot her in the face.

"What the hell was that for, you little _maggot_!"

Fang who was standing with his back to mine, whispered, "That word started with an m, not an f, right?"

I rolled my eyes. "Duh. How would she even know _that _word?" I was pretty sure no one was calling anyone else _that _name in this house.

"Reality TV," Fang said, as if it were obvious. He had a valid point; she did watch a _lot_ of reality TV. I peeked around the tree and saw Nudge throw Gazzy's water gun across the yard. Iggy came out from behind his hiding place after hearing Gazzy call desperately for his teammate.

"Nudge! Why don't you take your psycho womanly rage out on something else! _Not _the eleven year old!"

Nudge sighed and backed away from the Gasman. He was giggling maniacally, as if he only lived to irritate Nudge. She stepped toward him threateningly and he backed up, stifling his giggles.

"Max! Gazzy's a brat!"

I refused to answer because that would've given up our position. Fang nudged me in the arm with his elbow. I glanced at him and he nodded across the yard at another tree.

I raised an eyebrow. _Now? _

Fang just slightly shook his head. _Wait_.

We both peered around the tree to see Iggy dousing Nudge with his gun. "Take that, demon!"

Nudge screeched. She started spraying her gun in random directions, shielding her face. "Angel! Where are you!"

"One second, Nudge!"

Fang and I whipped around in sync just in time for Angel to spray Fang, soaking his black t-shirt. I lifted my gun and got her in the stomach and she gasped at the cold water.

I shot an apologetic look at Fang, then spun around. Nudge had yet to hit Iggy with her gun, yet, and he and I were the only ones still in the game.

I raised my gun and aimed for Iggy. He froze when he felt the water on his back.

"Damn it."

"Yes!" I exclaimed. "Victorious! Again!"

Fang and I high-fived.

"You guy cheat," Gazzy groaned angrily.

"No we don't," I said.

"We're just cooler than all of you," Fang said.

I snorted.

"Cooler, huh?" Iggy smirked, lifting his gun. "Maybe we should help you two hotheads maintain your _cool_."

The others caught on quickly. Iggy screamed, _Go! _and the four of them started spraying Fang and I from all angles. I squeaked and dove behind Fang, but he shoved me in front of him to block the water.

Eventually, he and I fell into defensive mode, back-to-back with each other, spraying the others until our guns ran out of ammo. Ten minutes later, the six of us were laying in the yard, doused from head to toe in water, breathing heavy with huge grins on our faces.

These days were the best. The days when we'd finish training particularly early, and Fang and Iggy would come up with a new game. They'd gone out and bought the water guns a couple days ago and revealed them as a surprise to the others.

"That was so fun!" Gazzy exclaimed.

I smiled at him, pushing my hand through his sopping hair and making it stand up straight on his head. He shook his head and sent water droplets flying all over me.

"Okay, Ig, how about we get some lunch started?" I said. I forced myself to stand up and stood still for a second, blinking away black spots.

"Yeah," Iggy said, making his way across the yard and into the house. Nudge jumped on his back and the others followed until it was just Fang and I.

"How you feel?" Fang asked.

"Alright," I mumbled, twisting my hair over my shoulder and wringing it out. "Head still hurts, but there's nothing I can do about it."

"Been hearing any voices?"

"Why?" I asked sourly. "So you and Ig can ship me off to a mental facility?"

Fang rolled his eyes. "Stop being such a drama queen," Fang said. "You know we were joking."

I sighed. "No, I haven't heard any voices."

"So, maybe it's going away."

I glared at him. "Great! Maybe my constant brain explosions were just a freak accident! Maybe a trucker's radio signal tapped into my fucked up brain on _accident_!"

Fang looked at me blankly. I sighed again, bumping my shoulder against his arm. "Sorry. I'm just stressed."

"I know."

We went in the house. We had some kind of cheesy pasta for lunch, then spent the rest of the day lounging. I got through the evening without a brain-shattering headache, which was impressive.

"Can we watch a movie?" Gazzy whined from the couch.

I was in the kitchen, making a couple dozen PBJ sandwiches. (Something I could actually manage in the kitchen by myself.) Fang was sitting on the counter next to me, eating chips. "I'm not stopping you. Pick one."

After a bit of debate, Gazzy said, "Can we watch _Step Brothers_?"

I glanced at Fang. "What's that one about?" I asked under my breath.

Fang gave me a look. "Step brothers?"

"Is it appropriate?"

He thought for a second. "They have sex in a public bathroom."

"The _brothers_?" I said with disgusted. Why did we _own _that movie? Fang kicked me, rolling his eyes. I could read his expression perfectly: _No, you pervert._ I frowned. Well, either way, we were not watching it.

"Not that one, Gaz."

Gazzy started complaining until Nudge said, "Let's just watch _Batman Begins_. That one's always good."

Fang smirked, jumping off the counter. "Oh, yeah," he said, venturing into the living room. "Max _loves _that one."

I rolled my eyes and followed him. We all stayed up until about eleven, watching movies and playing games. Fang carried Angel to bed and Nudge trailed after, mumbling something unintelligible. Gazzy had already resorted to his room an hour before. Iggy was snoozing on the couch and I _just _didn't have the heart to wake him.

Heh heh.

"Iggy!" I hissed, thumping him on the head. He shot up, snorting. "Wha-?"

"Go to bed," I said.

He rolled over onto his stomach, ignoring me.

"Iggy, get _up_," I said again, hitting him.

"Max, go 'way!"

Fang came down the stairs, nodding once when I looked up questioningly. Good; the girls we're asleep. He saw me struggling to get Iggy of the couch.

"Yo, Ig. If you sleep down here, you'll be woken up by loud, energetic kids at six am."

Iggy was up in seconds. I rolled my eyes, grinning as he stumbled up the stairs. After locking up the house and turning off all the lights, Fang and I went upstairs, too, and parted to go to our separate rooms.

Once I was in my room, I changed into a pair of loose athletic shorts and a tank top. I crawled into bed, pulling my covers up to my chin, and gave myself a minute to revel in the fact that my head wasn't exploding.

I couldn't sleep. It wasn't a surprise, but after about ten minutes of lying in bed wide awake, I knew I wouldn't be getting any beauty sleep.

I swung my legs out of bed, stood up, and walked quietly out of my room and down the hall. The house was dark and there wasn't a single light on, but I found the room unerringly. As quietly and slowly as possible, I pushed into Jeb's office.

Jeb's things were practically untouched, and had been that way ever since he disappeared. I mean, of course Fang and I had ventured in here to get credit cards and stuff, but all the paper work…we'd never wanted to snoop. Quite honestly, I think we were afraid of finding something that hinted maybe Jeb wasn't the saint we all remembered him as.

But, now I needed to research. I couldn't just sit around and wait for the last few months of my life to fly by. I needed to at least _try _to find a way to stop the expiration dates… Fang had said he'd looked into some of the files, but hadn't found anything.

That didn't mean I wasn't going to _try_.

I rifled through the stacks of papers on Jeb's desk for almost an hour, but most of it was gibberish. One of the filing cabinets was locked; I'd have to get Iggy to break it open tomorrow. The other cabinet had files and maps and coordinates in it, but none of it had anything to do with the flock specifically or expiration dates.

By one in the morning, I was getting fed up. My search had not only be fruitless, but my headache was back. I glanced around Jeb's tiny office one last time, hoping something would pop out at me and scream "Look at me, I hold all the answers!"

Nope.

I groaned, leaning against the wall. My head fell back and hit something hard, making me wince. I turned around to see a framed painting of a forest. Just a forest. I stared at it, cradling my head.

Jeb wasn't one to go all out with home décor. In fact, this was the only painting I'd ever seen in the house. Why would he have _one _painting? Of a _forest_?

Curiously, I grabbed the picture frame and lifted it off the wall.

Lo and behold, bam. There it was. A _safe_.

My head throbbed.

_Twenty-four, sixty-three, seven, zero, zero, eight. _

My eyes widened and I reached up. I grabbed the knob and slowly twisted it as the numbers ran through my mind continuously. Twenty-four…sixty-three…seven…zero…zero…eight.

_Click_.

"What the hell?" I muttered. I yanked the small safe open and right there, inside the safe, was a folder labeled _Expiration Dates. _

_Congratulations, Max, _a voice said in my head.

• • •

In seconds, I was down the hall and standing in Fang's bedroom, my eyes wide and my heart racing.

Fang was awake as soon as I opened the door, and now he sat up and looked at me sleepily.

"I found it."

I closed the door behind me and flipped on the lights. Fang squinted, his eyes adjusting, then saw me standing in front of him with a manila file folder in my hand. Any remnants of sleep disappeared from his eyes and he sat up, rubbing his face.

I joined him, sitting on the foot of his bed. I threw down the folder between us, and for a second, we both stared. I was almost too afraid to read it.

Almost.

As I reached for it, Fang said, "Where?"

"There was a safe in the wall," I explained, my fingers grasping the folder as if it were a lifeline. "Behind the painting."

"Of course," Fang muttered, mad at himself for not finding it. I pulled the first five pages or so out of the folder and shoved the rest at him.

The first few documents were pure research and data on the matter of expiration dates. A few words jumped out at me: _…inevitable effect of DNA splicing…gradual failure…within 24 hours…_

On the last page, I found something else. _'Because of the natural course of DNA unraveling and the sudden deterioration of the body and mind, there is no known reverse for expiration dates already programmed into lab subjects.'_

"No reverse," I said hoarsely, shoving the paper at him. "There's nothing…"

"Don't," Fang said gruffly, seeing my face and anticipating what was coming next. He curled his arms around me and let me bury my head in his chest. "We'll figure it out. We will."

"There's nothing to figure out," I whispered. "It's impossible. This is going to happen."

"No," Fang said, shaking his head.

I pushed closer to him, leaning my head on his shoulder. "What are we supposed to do?"

It was the worst question to ask because, frankly, neither of us knew the answer. Fang sighed, still running his fingers through my hair. "Listen. We're gonna figure it out. I don't care if we have to go all the way back to the School and force them to fix it, okay? I _swear_, Max."

I wished I could believe him.

Judging by the information, it wasn't a sudden, drop-dead kind of thing. It said '_gradual failure_,' as in my body shutting down. As in getting weaker and sicker until I can't do anything anymore.

Because it couldn't have been as easy as just dropping like a stone. God…that meant all of us, when the others' dates appeared, would all suffer a painful, slow death. I wanted to cry. Instead, I sat up and crawled around Fang's bed, maneuvering behind him. I checked his neck unceremoniously and almost cried out with relief when I didn't see a date on his neck.

"You're good," I murmured, letting out a long breath. "You aren't marked."

Fang sighed. "I could've told you that. This says that our expiration dates will show up in order, separated by months at a time. It could be a while before mine pops up."

"So if we don't find a way to stop mine…"

Fang looked at me. We both knew how hard this was going to be; and how dangerous. We were going to have to figure this out for ourselves by digging through Jeb's stuff or break into the School. Either way, it wasn't going to be very fun.

"Ugh," I mumbled, cradling my head in my hands. "My head hurts."

Fang stood, scooped up the papers on his bed and set them on his desk across the room. "We can do this tomorrow." Then he came back over and got back in bed. I scooted off his mattress, letting him get under the blankets.

"Fang…" I trailed off. When we were ten, we'd slept in the same room all the time. We'd relied on each other at night. Now, though…now we were seventeen.

Obviously, that wasn't stopping Fang. He rolled over to make more room for me and I held back a grin. I turned, flipped off his lights, and crawled under the blankets with him. There was no way I would've gotten any sleep in my own room, alone with just the thoughts of dying and death to keep me company.

It was much more comfortable with Fang. Because of our wings, our positions were kind of limited. I was laying on my side, facing him, my wings extended over the edge of the bed. Fang was on his stomach, his face turned away from me, his wings unfurled over the both of us.

We stayed like that in silence for a long time. I could practically feel the night flying by and knew I should get some sleep, but my mind was racing thinking about the expiration date on my neck.

It was hours later and I hadn't slept a wink. From the stiffness of Fang's muscles, I knew he hadn't either. It was slowly getting brighter outside. Finally, I broke the silence.

"Fang?"

He turned his head to face me, wide awake. He searched my face before answering, "What is it?"

I pulled my wings in and flopped onto my back, staring up at the ceiling. "It's just…there's so much I'm never going to get to do."

Fang, always one to lighten the mood, whispered, "You already get to sleep in my bed. What else could you want?"

I rolled my eyes. "Go to school? Get a job? Um…"

Fang inched closer to me. I could feel his body heat almost as hot and intense as his stare.

"…Go on a cruise. Get drunk. Get a tattoo. Get my license. Buy a car…"

"Shit, Max," Fang murmured, his lips close to my ear now. "That's a long list-"

"…Go bowling. Stay out past curfew. Get a pet. Have kids. Have sex…"

"You know," Fang said slowly. "Not _all _of those things are impossible."

That comment resulted in me punching Fang with all my might, right in the arm. He chuckled. "Max, we could _totally _get a dog."

I turned my head to look at him and our noses bumped together. Fang's smug chuckle froze in his throat. I had to resist the smile that was tugging at my lips. My stomach clenched at how close we were. At where we were. All of my fears and questions about death and dying were gone, for the time being. All of them replaced by Fang.

"Goodnight, nerd," I mumbled, rolling onto my stomach.

"Night, loser."

**A/N: Review for Fax! **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I am very happy with this chapter. Surprisingly so. **

**Another great, great, greaaaat book I'm quoting. I highly recommend it. **

"Maybe you can afford to wait. Maybe for you there's a tomorrow. Maybe for you there's one thousand tomorrows, or three thousand, or ten, so much time you can bathe in it, roll around in it, let it slide like coins through your fingers. So much time you can waste it. But for some of us there's only today. And the truth is, you never really know."

- Lauren Oliver, _Before I Fall_

MAX

I had woken up next to Fang a million times.

Granted, that had been some time between the ages of ten and thirteen, back when we were ridiculously codependent and not at all attracted to each other. (Not saying I am now attracted to him, just saying that hormones can cause very confusing, very unnerving changes in one's feelings toward one's decent-looking male best friend.)

But…all those other times, it had been totally innocent. I'd woken up with my cheek against his shoulder, our arms pressed together, our feet touching - even his hand on my hip protectively.

_This_, though…

This was different.

I don't know what woke me up in the first place. When I regained consciousness, the house was completely silent and there was no impending danger. It was surprisingly calm for ten in the morning; usually, by now, everyone was up and eating breakfast while I rattled off the agenda for the day. Instead, the only sound I was aware of was the soft, cheery chirping of the birds outside.

Either way, something forced me awake. I'd only gotten five mere hours of shut-eye, but I hadn't suffered a mind-splattering headache, so I wasn't complaining.

My skin was warm. My mouth and throat were thick with sleep. My eyes were dry and tired. My muscles were aching to be stretched. Most of all, my heart was racing wildly because Fang was holding me very…possessively.

Seriously, though. The kind of embrace we were in was…sensual. Not like I knew _much _about sensual things, but…just picture it for a second. His face was buried in my hair, his lips pressed into the crook of my neck. One of his hands was gripping the back of my thigh. His leg was wedged between both of mine. Each hot breath he took fanned against my neck, causing my heart to skip a beat. My tank top had ridden up, and he didn't have a shirt on at all, so a thin stretch of my bare stomach was pressed against his naked torso. The amount of his skin that was in contact with mine was unbelievable. There was literally no plausible way for me to untangle us. We were forever entwined like this.

Fang curled around me, moving his knee upwards between my legs until it pressed against me. He groaned in my hair and I let out the most embarrassing squeak.

"Fang," I tried helplessly, shoving at his shoulder. I could feel him slowly waking up against me. His nose dug into my neck, his fingers gripped my thigh tightly for a moment, and then he lifted his head and gazed at me.

"Morning."

His lethargic greeting made me fight back a smile. I tried to ignore the feeling in my stomach at the way he was holding me.

"Uh, morning. Feel like letting up a bit?" I glanced down at our bodies and looking pointedly at the way he was pressed against me in _every _place imaginable.

"My bed," Fang grunted, but reluctantly rolled away from me. My body immediately missed his heat and I resisted the urge to pull him against me again. "I can lay how I want."

I didn't answer. Instead, I sat up and twisted, feeling my muscles release and lose pent-up tension. I unfurled my wings into the empty space of Fang's room and almost groaned at the feeling. I'd had them pulled in tight all night, and now I slowly tried to work the kinks out. I stretched them out as far as I could until the tips of my wings were brushing the opposite walls of Fang's bedroom. When I was satisfied, I pulled them in towards my back and sighed, glancing at Fang. He was watching me with his dark eyes, his hands crossed behind his head.

"What?" I said defensively. "You got to have your wings stretched all night while I was manhandled and pinned to the mattress like some kind of _conquest_."

I said the word with utter disgust, but Fang's eyes lit up with delight at the idea. Fang raised an eyebrow. "Is that what it felt like to you? I was simply sharing the bed with a friend."

_Okay_, now I felt humiliated. How did Fang do that? How did he manage to make me feel like a fool with only a couple words thrown carelessly in my direction? I huffed. "I hate you."

"No you don't," he said, sitting up. He stood up, walked across the room, and started getting dressed. I stood and stormed towards the door. Why was he allowed to practically molest me, and then blame me? Huh?

"Max."

Fang grabbed my wrist and pulled me close. My bare arms came in contact with his bare chest and I was torn between wanting to tear away or sink into his arms. In that moment, something changed.

He chuckled. "I live and breathe to make you uncomfortable."

As suddenly as it was there, it was gone. Fang was back to being my infuriating best friend, nothing more. And I was no longer angry with him.

"You're-" I stopped, spinning around. His chest had been unbearably warm. I pressed both my hands to his face, then to his forehead. "You're hot."

"You think so?"

"Fang, you have a fever," I said, my pool of patience barely a puddle by now.

"Now that you mention it, it does feel kind of warm in here."

"You're practically sweating."

I left the room, coming back a second later with the thermometer. He was dressed by the time I got back. I shoved the thermometer under his tongue and told him sternly not to move it. It took forever for the damn thing to beep, and when it did, I gasped.

"I _am _hot."

"People _die _at temperatures like this," I said, glancing at the _110 _on the screen.

Fang stared at me. "Well, then maybe I'll beat you to it, huh?"

"That's not funny," I snapped. The thought of losing Fang, even if it was a joke, make my heart seize for a second.

Fang's eyes hardened. "So stop it. You talk about dying like it's a fucking joke. Just quit."

"What? Is it a bad word now? Sorry I let the d-word slip, Fang. It won't happen again."

He grabbed both my arms, his touching searing me. This time, it wasn't because of my hormones; it was because of his feverish skin. "Every time you talk about dying, it feels like you're _punching _me. So," he said lowly, "just _stop_."

My eyes widened. I nodded, swallowing. "Okay. Sorry," I mumbled, sounding chastised.

We stood in silence. Fang, who was about to pull on a t-shirt, threw it to the ground. "Screw it," he grumbled. "My skin is on fire."

"Go take a cold shower."

"I think I'll need an ice bath, instead," Fang said, only half-joking.

Fang's bedroom door pushed open, revealing a tired-looking Iggy. Before he could say what I supposed would be a gross, irritated comment, I said, "Come here, Ig. Feel Fang's-"

"Gross, no! Whatever Fang needs a cold shower or ice bath for, I don't _want _to know."

I raised an eyebrow. "-forehead, Iggy. Feel his _forehead_. He has a fever."

Iggy lifted his hand and I placed it on Fang's head. Iggy frowned. "That's not normal. Did you take his temperature?"

"Yeah," I said glumly. "110."

"Damn Fang," Iggy said. "Max said you were hot, but I didn't think _that _hot."

I rolled my eyes as Fang said, "So, Max said I was hot, huh?"

Iggy grinned. "No, seriously man. You should probably take a cold shower."

I went into the bathroom, retrieved my pain relievers, and pour two into Fang's hand.

"Really? You'd spare two of your _precious _pills on me?" he said sarcastically.

I glared. "Just take them."

"What? No water?" Oh, he was just hilarious. I watched him swallow the pills dry. He grabbed the t-shirt off the ground and was heading towards the door when he started to sway.

And then he collapsed.

I groaned.

"Ig, come on," I mumbled. "Let's get him in the shower."

• • •

"It's a nice change of pace," I said as Fang opened his eyes almost an hour later. "You doing the damseling for once."

The medicine, along with throwing him half-naked into the shower and covering his skin with cold, wet cloths, had taken down his fever.

Fang frowned at me, but didn't say anything. He reached up and took the damp cloth off him forehead.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Feel great," he said, sitting up. I expected to hear some sarcasm, but he was serious. I mean, he didn't _look _sick anymore… "What happened?"

"You passed out while getting dressed this morning. Had a 110 degree fever."

"Starving," he said, rolling out of bed. I rolled my eyes and followed him into the kitchen. The others looked up when we entered, but no one said anything. The last thing anyone wanted to do was point of that Mr. Macho had passed out.

Pfft. I wasn't scared of him.

I grabbed his arm and shoved him into a chair in the kitchen, feigning concern. "Are you sure you're okay? Don't want you collapsing again."

Fang glared at me. I smiled saccharinely. "At least you weren't out in public; here someone found you. _Eventually_."

Fang leaned back in the chair, watching me. "You done?"

"Maybe," I smirked, pulling out a container of leftovers from breakfast. Scrambled eggs, sausage, and hash browns - after two minutes in the microwave, Fang was chowing down.

"We haven't done anything yet today," I said regretfully, glancing out the window as I poured Fang a glass of milk. "Didn't want you to miss out."

Fang snorted. "How considerate."

Behind me, in the living room, the Gasman called, "Yeah, Fang. We were kind of hoping you'd never wake up."

Fang raised an eyebrow. "Thanks, man."

Angel laughed.

"He's kidding, Fang!"

"Oh. Good," Fang glanced at me again, polishing off his breakfast. "Was worried for a second there."

I laughed, relieved that he was feeling alright now. Whatever that episode was this morning, it was long gone now. I let myself push it into the back of my mind; no use worrying about something I can't go back and fix.

I clapped my hands as Fang drained his milk. "Guess what we get to do today?"

Everyone looked warily in my direction.

"Forget sparring. We're working out!"

They collectively groaned. I just loved being the bearer of good news.

"C'mon, guys. Before the rain sets in."

• • •

Eighty push-ups, one hundred sit-ups and five sprinted-miles later, we were pooped. My shirt was drenched in sweat, the others were all sitting around the yard with me, taking in heavy breaths. Nudge was doing stretches to relieve a cramp in her side, but the rest of us were lazing around in the grass. Dark clouds were rolling over head, but none of us were ready to move.

I don't know how long we laid there, not talking or moving, just breathing in the clean smell of rain. The air was cool and moist, not nearly as insufferable as earlier in the day, and now we were all letting out exhausted muscles pull us into paralysis.

The rain came all at once. One second it was still rumbling in the clouds above, the next second my vision was shrouded by a sheet of cool, pelting rain. Nudge let out a shriek as she flopped onto her back on the ground, letting the water cool her skin.

"I love the rain," Angel said from my right. I looked down at her, her blonde curls dripping with raindrops and eyes full of content, and my heart seized. I couldn't even respond to her. I just smiled at her, and she gave me a funny look.

Suddenly, I was pulled to my feet.

"Wha-"

"Hey, Max," Iggy said with a laugh, "ever danced in the rain?"

"Never danced at all, you idiot," I said, wrapping my arms around him. "Why? Are you going to dance with me?"

He wiggled his eyebrows, then spun me around so my back was to him. He hooked his arms under mine and spun, hard, so my feet lifted off the ground and he was swinging me around and around. I almost kicked Fang.

"This is _not _dancing!" I screeched, laughing.

"You guys are going to hurt someone!"

"Yeah, you almost decapitated Gazzy!"

Iggy set my feet on the ground, spun me around and dipped me. I was laughing so hard by now that I could barely stand up straight when he released me. The next person he grabbed was Nudge, and Angel latched onto Gazzy, and suddenly everyone was laughing and tripping and dancing in the rain. I tried to grab Fang, but he shook his head slowly at me, his face stern.

"No," he said, backing up. "No way, Max."

I frowned. "Fang, you're ruining the moment."

Fang looked like he was considering it for a second. "Uh, no."

I shoved his shoulders and he raised an eyebrow. "Now we're going to be violent?"

I laughed. "I want to dance in the rain. And _you_," I said, jabbing his soaked t-shirt, "are going to join me."

Fang's face was set in a _don't ask again _expression. I frowned at him. "Fine," I mumbled, looking down at my feet. I sighed heavily. "I guess this is just one thing I won't get to do."

I tried not to grin, and forced myself not to look up at him. He was so going to cave. I heard him sigh, as if I was inconveniencing him incredibly.

Then he held out his hand to me.

**A/N: D'awh. **

**What did you think about this chapter? Why did Fang come down with such a violent fever? What's going on with Max's Voice? How are they going to handle the expiration date problem? Do you think the others are going to find out?**

**All I have to say is: Fang and Max need to stop sharing a bed, or they will be in trouuuuuble. Agree? Disagree?**

**Are you reveling in the Fax or just waiting in fear for me to bring everything crashing down? Hm? I'd love to hear your theories. **

**Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I seriously can't even say how much the reviews mean to me. Thank you **_**so **_**much. **

**The quote below is from one of the most thought-provoking novels I've ever read - **_**ever**_**. It's by the late Ned Vizzini, and if you want to really contemplate the hard things in life while laughing and crying, if you want a book that you're going to finish and then lay there, thinking about how beautifully depressing it was…read this one. **

"It's tough to get out of bed; I know that myself. You can lie there for an hour and a half without thinking anything, just worrying about what the day holds and knowing that you won't be able to deal with it."

- Ned Vizzini, _It's Kind of a Funny Story_

MAX

A week. That's how long it had been since Fang found my expiration date. Seven whole days. And honestly, we hadn't really figured out much on the "cure" front, which wasn't very good planning on our part.

Soon, we were going to have to figure out a plan. And tell the others.

But…not today.

"All right, chefs," I said, walking into the kitchen. "What's for dinner?"

"First, we're going to make my strawberry shortcake!" Angel said, bouncing into the kitchen.

Nudge glanced at me while handing Iggy a measuring cup. "Then, _we _are having steak."

"What do you mean, _we_?" I inquired.

Angel grabbed the bowl of strawberries out of the fridge and went over to Iggy, who was preparing ingredients for the cake.

"Fang said you guys were going out," Gazzy said. Apparently, the others didn't think this was a big deal. Well, Iggy looked like he knew something I didn't, but to the others it wasn't something to get worked up about.

"Well, that's news to me," I said. At the same time, Fang came into the kitchen. He'd gotten in the shower right after me, so we were both sporting wet hair. Mine was tied up in a pony-tail. Fang came over behind me and tugged the hair band out, letting my hair fall around my shoulders.

I almost asked him why, when it hit me: My expiration date.

DUH, MAX.

I quickly blocked my mind from Angel - not an easy task, but necessary - and gave him a thankful look. I couldn't _believe _I'd been so careless.

I took the rubber band from him and put it on my wrist. "Where are we going and why am I the last to know?"

"It's a surprise and," he shrugged, glancing around the kitchen, "it _was _a surprise."

Okay, hold up. Fang doesn't surprise people. He doesn't get exciting little notions to make someone's day with a cutesy little surprise. The only surprise I could remember Fang pulling off was buying Nudge and Angel a couple magazines at the store and then handing them over with a short, "Here."

But that's just the way he is.

Now here he was, planning a surprise for me. One that everyone else knew about.

Excuse me while I freak the fuck out.

"But…we can't just…"

"Yeah, we can."

"But how will we-"

"It's fine."

"But we should-"

Fang spun on me. "Max. Go put on some shoes and shut up."

I closed my mouth and stared at him. Well, then. I guess Fang and I were going out tonight.

• • •

As soon as Fang and I landed, I carefully pulled my wings and tugged on my windbreaker that I'd tied around my waist before we'd left. I couldn't exactly walk around town with two large cuts in the back of my shirt. Fang pulled on his jacket, too, and we stepped out of that smelly alley like two ordinary teens.

"So, why are you trying to be all…secretive?"

Fang shoved his hands into his pockets, taking a left down the sidewalk. I followed him around the corner. "Trying?" Fang inquired, almost grinning at me. I rolled my eyes.

I elbowed him. "Okay, why _are _you being all secretive? Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

Fang looked down at me. "Yeah," he said, grabbing my arm and turning me. "We're here."

Across the street was a small building with a neon sign that read _Joe's Bowling Lanes. _

"_Bowling_?" I said incredulously, looking at him. "We're going bowling?"

"What, you don't want to?" Fang asked, his face falling serious. "It was on your list, right?"

I made a surprised sound and couldn't help the smile that took over my face. "You remembered my list? I thought you'd only remember the raunchy stuff."

Fang grinned as only Fang can grin. "There was only one raunchy thing on your list, Max."

"And you remembered it, didn't you?" I inquired.

Fang shrugged. "Yeah, okay. I remembered. But…we have to start with something easier first."

I gaped at him. What did he mean, _start_?

Fang grabbed my hand. "We'll get around to it _all_, Max," Fang said teasingly. "But first, I'm going to kick your ass in bowling."

There was no way Fang and I would do everything on my list. Some of those things just…weren't possible in the time I had left. But…he was trying. God, was he trying. And I wasn't going to stop him.

"You can _try_," I said. Fang and I ran across the street and he pulled the door open. He stopped me before I went in and looked down at me, raising an eyebrow jokingly.

"_Try_?"

Inside, we both got bowling shoes and a lane. While I keyed in our names to the scoreboard screen, Fang went and got us three baskets of food and two large drinks. He came back just as the first set of pins was being placed.

"Chili cheese fries, hot wings, and fried pickles," Fang said, setting down each basket respectively.

"Pfft," I said, grabbing a fried pickle. "And the others were having _steak_. Losers."

Fang smirked. "Who's going first?"

"You," I said, taking a sip of the soda he'd gotten me. "I'm giving you as much of an advantage as you need."

Fang rolled his eyes and grabbed the bowling ball he picked out. "Okay, but I don't want to see any crying when I win."

I snorted. "Deal."

• • •

Fang and I were pretty much a mess when we left the bowling alley. I'd slaughtered him from the very beginning of the game; something that I was constantly gloating about. As soon as we left, though, we were both bombarded by our own demons. Fang by a scorching fever and myself by a skull-shattering headache.

As soon as we stepped into the house, we both groaned.

"Why are there so many lights on? It's blinding," I said, flipping off the light in the kitchen. It was like eleven, and from what I could tell, Iggy was the only one up.

Fang passed me in the kitchen and headed right into the bathroom, grumbling, "It's August. Why the hell is the heater on?"

Fang came out of the bathroom with the bottle of pain pills and we both took two of them. Iggy chuckled from the living room.

"The heater isn't on, Grandma. Having another one of your hot flashes?"

Fang threw the pill bottle at Iggy and hit him in the temple. Iggy rubbed his head, still grinning. I looked at Fang. "You should take your temperature. Maybe take a shower so that you don't pass out, like last time."

Fang glared at me before going down the hall and disappearing into the bathroom without another word.

"So where'd you guys go?" Iggy asked.

"Bowling alley," I said.

"Bowling? Why would Fang's big surprise be…_bowling_?"

I shrugged, getting comfortable on the couch. And, by _getting comfortable_, I mean totally invading Iggy's personal space. If he minded, he didn't tell me. I heard the shower turn on down the hall and knew Fang had reluctantly taken my advice.

"Because it's what I wanted to do," I said, propping my head up with a throw pillow.

Iggy raised an eyebrow. "Fang's surprise…was letting you decide where to go?"

I closed my eyes, rubbing my temples to relieve the pain in my head. "So _what_, Ig? What are you getting at?"

Iggy shook his head, but still had that infuriating _I know something you don't know _look on his face. "I mean, don't tell him I said this, but…Fang's completely lost his shit about you."

"I'm sorry," I said, eyes still closed. "He what?"

"Okay, think about it. He's probably the only person on the planet who hates going out in public more than you, and yet he just took you to a _bowling alley_. He probably even left you win. Which is really messed up, because he never lets you win anything. You guys turn everything and anything into a competition."

"He did _not_ let me win."

"Did _he _win?"

I stayed silent, grinding my teeth. I opened one eye to look at Iggy, who was looking at me like, _Damn, she is clueless. _

Fang wouldn't really _let _me win, would he? I mean, it's not like either of us had ever been bowling before, so it was totally possible that he sucked at it…right?

"Why would he do that?" I wondered out loud, totally ignorant to whatever point Iggy was trying to make.

Iggy snorted. "Whatever, Max. I'm going to bed. You can try and figure this one out yourself."

A couple minutes after Iggy had left the living room, I got up off the couch. Now that he'd pointed out that there was a chance Fang had let me win, I was kind of pissed. Who does Fang think he is, handing me a win like that? Doesn't he know that I'd rather lose fair and square than have him go easy on me? I mean, I wouldn't like to lose at all, ever, but I'd take that over someone bombing a competition just to make me feel better. That was just ridiculous.

I walked down the hall. Fang was still in the shower, but thanks to _someone _who'd busted the lock on the bathroom door, I didn't have to wait for him to get out.

I opened the door. "Hey, Fang?"

"Max, let's hold off the heart-to-heart until I'm out."

"Did you _let _me win today?"

He didn't answer right away, and that's when I knew. That little _bugger_.

"Fang! Damn it."

"What? What's so wrong with that?"

"Have I ever needed you to go easy on me? _Ever_?" I demanded. It was a lot harder doing this with a shower curtain between us, but he knew I was pissed.

"Max I was just-"

"No. Just because I'm-" I stopped, realizing that Iggy was probably awake and had incredible hearing "-_you know _doesn't mean I need you to treat me like a baby."

"Are you done yet? You never thanked me for taking you bowling, by the way."

I wanted to rip my hair out. I didn't. Instead, I held back a shriek and, in my blind anger, yanked Fang's towel off the rack. Then I turned to the linen closet by the sink and grabbed the stack of towels from there, too. I didn't leave a washcloth.

Okay, maybe not the best revenge ever, but…whatever.

I stormed out of the bathroom and dropped the pile of towels next to me on the couch. And then I waited for the hushed curse and yelling of my name.

It never came.

In fact, it took Fang almost half an hour to even get out of the shower. By then, I was kind of dosed on the couch, until someone hit me in the face with a pillow. I started and sat up, blinking.

Then my eyes landed on Fang…the unrated version.

"Oh, God in Heaven," I choked, covering my face with a towel. "Have you no shame?"

"You thought I was going to run to my room embarrassed?" Fang asked, yanking the towel away from my face and wrapping it around his waist. After a minute, I trusted it was safe to uncovered my eyes and sighed. Some things you just don't unsee, you know?

Fang grinned at me.

"You're impossible," I grumbled.

"Goodnight, Max," Fang said, still smirking. Oh, he was just a _hoot_.

"I won't be getting any sleep tonight, thanks to you!" I called.

"Your dreams are going to be magical!"

**A/N: This chapter has no plot. Honestly, I had it going a bit longer and stopping with a cliffhanger, but I liked this ending better soooo…plot next chapter!**

**Review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Gahhhh. I have reached many obstacles in all of my stories. Sorry. **

**And I am really sorry this chapter is short and crappy. **

"Don't ask for guarantees. And don't look to be saved in any one thing, person, machine or library. Do your own bit of saving, and if you drown, at least die knowing you were heading for shore."

-Ray Bradbury, _Fahrenheit 451_

MAX

I endured a long, restless night that night, but not due to the revealing images of Fang _au natural_. No, this time it was the Voice. My Voice decided that it was a perfect time to start nagging at me. At eleven o'clock at night. While I was actually in a good mood. It appeared to remind me that over a week had gone by and I still hadn't done shit about my expiration date except freak out.

In fact, Fang and I hadn't spoken about it or hinted at it since our last little talk about bucket lists. It was either because he didn't want to upset me, or because he still had no ideas on how to fix this. For me, it was a bit of both. I'd seen what talking about it did to him.

Still. If we didn't come up with a solution soon, we might end up being too late to fix anything.

Or, at least, that's what the Voice was telling me.

By the way, that's what I'd decided to call my new friend. I mean, I figured since he (I wasn't sure of the gender, I was just assuming it was male) and I were sharing a brain, he'd at least tell me who he was. No dice. The Voice refused to tell me anything except, _You're wasting time, Max. You need to figure things out, Max. The clock is ticking, Max. _

Gah.

After getting barely any sleep at all, I rolled out of bed and went into the kitchen where Gazzy and Iggy were already up and making breakfast. Well, Iggy was making breakfast. Gazzy was…clipping his toenails at the table.

"Gross, Gazzy. What is wrong with you?"

Gazzy stuck his tongue out at me. "I don't know any better. I didn't have a strong mother figure teaching me right from wrong."

I glared as Iggy laughed his butt off. Oh, yeah. Hysterical.

"Hey Max, isn't your name technically a boy name?"

Just when I was about to explain to the Gasman that it was technically _Maximum _and not _Max_, Fang decided to appear in the kitchen and explain for me. Joy.

"When she was born, they thought she was a boy. So they named her Max. By the time they figured it out, it was too late to change it."

Gazzy erupted into laughter and I frowned. "_No_, I named myself-" 

"Yeah," Iggy said while cracking eggs into a sizzling pan. "_She _thought she was a boy, so she chose that name. Not the scientists."

I rolled my eyes, deciding to let this argument go. What I really wanted to do was smash some eggs over Iggy's head and then kick Fang really hard, but I was just better than that. The guys eventually stopped laughing at their own joke, and the Gasman sat at the table, a curious look on his face. Fang started making toast and I got out the butter. Buttering toast was one job in the kitchen that I was certified for. There really isn't any way to mess it up.

"I guess it kind of makes sense you have a boy name," Gazzy said finally.

I paused. "Why's that, kiddo?" I asked slyly, not facing him.

Fang shook his head, glancing down at me then at the Gasman. "That's a trap."

"Just…stop while your ahead, buddy," Iggy agreed. I smirked.

"No, really Gazzy. Why?"

He looked from Fang, to Iggy, to me, a little fearful. Then he got up form the table, mumbling about changing his shirt. There was nothing wrong with his shirt, except maybe that the blind kid had picked it out and it was a hideous combination of green and yellow stripes. I mean, I thought it was hideous, but I was so uneducated in fashion that my opinion probably didn't matter.

"You guys are dicks," I mumbled, stacking the buttered toast on a plate.

"Speaking of," Iggy said with a amused grin, "sounds like and you two had fun last night."

I felt my face heat up. "What are you talking about?"

Just then, Nudge shouted down the hallway, "Where are the towels? Hel-_lo_?"

Iggy disguised his snort, but just barely. I frowned at him then went into the living room, where the towels were still stacked on the couch. Oops. I scooped them up and brought them down the hall, shoving them through the crack in the bathroom door.

When I got back in the kitchen, The boys were both smirking, both wearing up-to-no-good looks.

"Shut up," I grumbled.

A moment later of insufferable silence and Nudge came down the hall, her poufy hair slightly less poufy due to the wetness of her recent shower.

"So, what's the plan today, Max?" Nudge asked, taking out the jug of orange juice and pouring herself a glass. She reached over Iggy into the cabinet for a glass and he ducked, as if he could see her coming. Sometimes, the way Iggy moved in sync with the others amazed me.

"Cardio, sparring… I don't know. Haven't decided yet. What do you want to do?"

"Nothing."

I shot Gazzy a dry look. "Fang?"

"I say…flying technique."

I rolled my eyes. "That's not a workout."

Fang raised an eyebrow challengingly. "Oh, yeah?"

• • •

"Okay! Okay! Flying is a workout! I get it!" I screeched, catching one of the baseballs Fang had thrown at me and hurling it down toward him. He dodged, laughing. The others were scattered around me, watching Fang attack me from the ground with his seemingly-never-ending arsenal.

We'd been outside for the entire morning and most of the early afternoon, flying and sparring in the air, testing our endurance. It was one thing to utilize our techniques on foot, but in the air it was a whole different story. Not to mention the current stage of training that Fang was so kindly helping with - evasive procedures.

"Come on, Max! You can do better than that," Fang teased, throwing another baseball. I somersaulted out of the way, and felt the baseball fly past my hair.

"One more time, Fang," I threatened menacing. I mean, there were five of us in the air and he just _had _to aim at me? Almost every time? He got that infuriating look on his face, the one that he seemed to wear more and more often when it came to _annoying the shit out of me_, and lifted his arm, readying the next baseball.

"Fang-" I warned, but was cut off when he threw another baseball at me, so fast I didn't get out of the way fast enough. It hit me in the shoulder, sending tendrils of pain down my arm. I snarled and dove down, falling into a nosedive until I was so close I was about to plow face-first into Fang. Then I pulled out my wings, swung my feet forward, and kicked him right in the chest.

Fortunately, it had the wanted effect. The breath was knocked out of Fang's lungs with a _whoosh_. Unfortunately, I lost my balance and twisted my ankle. I ignored the pain as best I could.

"Max!" Angel laughed. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, you know," I said, grinning down at Fang. "Just practicing my landing."

Fang shoved my shoulders, and I rolled over into the grass.

"Can we be done?" Gazzy inquired. "I'm hungry."

"Yeah, it's almost two," Fang said, standing up and offering me a hand. I ignored him and got up on my own. Fang rolled his eyes. As we all started walking inside, I heard Gazzy say to Nudge, "Hey, do you want to know why Max has a boy name?"

I groaned. I could feel Fang's shoulders moving with laughter as he walked beside me. I called up to him, "Hey, want to know why Fang has a dog name?"

The laughter was instantaneous.

• • •

"That was _so awesome_!"

Nudge glanced up from her book across the room, her eyes locking with mine. I looked over at Angel, who was sitting on the carpeted floor painting her fingernails with a pink polish I'd surprised her with one day. Apparently, nine-year-old girls were into that girly stuff.

We'd finished eating lunch almost an hour ago, and the boys had gone outside. Apparently to cause ruckus.

"Did you hear that?" Angel asked.

"Yeah," Nudge said suspiciously. "It sounded like Gazzy. Gazzy only sounds that excited when they…blow something up."

I was up and out of the recliner before you could say _bomb_. I went to the window and pulled back the curtain, but didn't see anything out over the canyon, where the boys usually exploded things. Which, honestly, only piqued my suspicion. I mean, living with boys is always…interesting. Anyone with a brother or two could tell you that. But living with these three particular boys, two of which have a distinct love for trouble, and the other who seems to love defying my authority more than anything in the world… It can get a little dangerous.

"Fang, do it again!"

I raised my eyebrow at the girls and they jumped up, racing to the other end of the house. Angel threw open the door in the kitchen and we all piled out of the part of the house that wasn't on stilts over a thousand-feet drop and ran out into the "backyard", for all intents and purposes.

Just in time to watch Fang run head-first at a tree.

"What are you _doing_?" I screeched, watching as Iggy and Gazzy called encouragement to Fang. Fang completely ignored me and poured on the speed, heading toward a medium -sized tree that towered over all of us. I mean, don't say I didn't warn you, right? Seriously. Who does this shit? The tree was a good distance from the house. Nudge stifled a shriek when Fang came in contact with the hard trunk.

And then, we all stared in complete silence as the tree uprooted and Fang _threw _it over the edge of the canyon.

I think I might need to repeat that last sentence.

_Fang _threw a _tree_.

I mean, it wasn't a Redwood or anything, but _Jesus_. It was still crazy.

The astounded "Holy shit" slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them. The guy was barely even sweating, having just uprooted and thrown a tree that was three times the size of him.

Fang smirked at me across the yard.

"Max, I think you dropped something!" Gazzy called. Then he giggled. "Oh, yeah - your jaw!"

I snapped my mouth shut.

"What the hell was _that_?"

Fang turned to face me, smirking. "I got a new power."

There was silence for about two seconds. And then:

"No!" I said, furious. "Seriously? I got a freaking _voice _in my head and you get super strength? What the _heck_?"

Fang found this tantrum of mine to be extremely amusing. The others, sans Iggy, stared at me in shock.

"Max…what are you talking about?"

I groaned. "I have a voice in my head…that…talks to me."

Gazzy made a WTF face, staring at me. Angel and Nudge just kind of looked concerned.

"A voice? Like…someone else in your head? And not Angel? But how-"

"I don't know. But seriously, why do you get to have super strength? That is so uncool."

Fang grinned, shrugging, still happy about his new power. Well whoop-de-do for him. I mean, it wasn't _that _impressive…

"So…I guess this explains Fang's hot flashes?" Iggy said casually. I looked at him, realizing that was probably right. Like Fang had said, any new powers were going to come with some side effects, like the headaches I was no longer having and the high temperatures that he'd gotten a few times.

"Well, that's just bogus! My power is totally worthless-"

_Our connection is not worthless, Maximum. It is very important. _

I wanted to pull my own hair out. "Whatever!" I hissed. Everyone stared at me, totally flabbergasted.

_You'll appreciate this one day, when you understand. _

I clamped my mouth shut and spun around, stomping towards the house without another word to the others. I thought nastily, _Well, I seriously hope 'one day' comes within the next three months, because otherwise I'll never understand. _

I ripped the calendar off the wall in the kitchen and went down the hall into my room, shutting the door firmly.

_Max, you know what the next step is. You're just too afraid to take it. _

I sighed. _I don't know what any of that means. I don't know what anything means anymore. _

I flopped back onto my bed, the calendar falling to the floor. Whatever I'd intended to do with it, forgotten. There was a knock at my bedroom door, but whoever it was didn't wait for me to open it. A moment later, Fang sat down on my bed next to me, silent as ever.

_You need Jeb. Jeb knows. _

_Jeb is dead, _I thought, rubbing my eyes.

Nothing.

I sat up quickly. _Right? _

Nothing.

_Voice?_

Nothing.

"Oh, my God."

Well, that was certainly a game-changer.

**A/N: Well, what the heck? Jeb's alive? Who's the Voice? And what is Max gonna do now?**

**Do you like Fang's new power?**

**Review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Well, faithful readers. Thank you for all of the incredible reviews. **

**The below quote is from a tear-jerker of a novel that will probably change your life.**

"There will come a time when all of us are dead. All of us. …And if the inevitability of human oblivion worries you, I encourage you to ignore it. God knows that's what everyone else does."

-John Green, _The Fault in Our Stars_

MAX 

Fang continued to just stare at me, so I exclaimed again: "Oh, my God!"

I grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "Fang!"

He raised a single eyebrow at me. "What?"

"_Jeb_."

I stood up, snatched the calendar off the floor, and ran down the hall into Jeb's study. It was still a mess from the last time I had ransacked it for answers, but I knew the answer had to be in here somewhere. Jeb must've left something behind that would tell us where he was.

The first spark of hope I'd felt in days, since Fang had discovered my mark, surged through me. With it came a certain excitement; maybe Jeb could answer all our questions. If the Voice was trying to tell me alive…if he was alive and out there, somewhere, then maybe Jeb knew exactly what to do. He'd always known exactly what do to.

Fang followed me into Jeb's small study and shut the door quietly. I could hear the others in the kitchen, talking and rummaging for food. I went straight to the file cabinet and started yanking open drawers, re-digging through all the files I'd already searched days ago. I was looking for a label that said, _Jeb's alive and here's his contact information. _Or something to that effect.

"Max?" Fang said, touching my arm. I turned to face him.

"Jeb's alive," I whispered, not wanting anyone to overhear me. Once the words were said out loud, I just wanted to smile like an idiot. He was alive. He was alive and okay, had been all this time. He wasn't dead.

"Max…what are you talking about?"

"The Voice told me…well, it said I needed Jeb's help in figuring this out."

Fang just watched me.

"He's got to be out there somewhere, Fang. Okay? He…he must've had some reason not to come back."

"Max…" Fang shoved his hand through his hair, his face doubtful.

"Think about it!" I hissed excitedly. "We've never gotten one bill sent to this house. Not the credit card bills, not electricity or mortgage. I mean, those things aren't free! Why don't we ever get bills?"

"I don't know," Fang said. "Maybe-"

I cut him off. "We never had any real evidence that he died, you know? Maybe he's been alive this whole time!"

"Max…can you even trust that Voice in your head? Didn't we think it was someone from the School? What if they're just lying to you?"

I shook my head. "No. No, it doesn't make any sense. Whoever's my Voice is in my head, Fang. They'd know where we were; they'd hunt us down. We'd already have been dragged back to the School by now if it was a whitecoat."

"So who do you think it is?"

I bit my lip. "I don't know. But they say Jeb's alive…they say he can help. We need to find him."

I turned again, flicking through the files in the open drawer before me, when Fang touched my shoulder gently. I didn't turn around until Fang said, "Max. You remember that night as well as I do."

I froze. I knew exactly what night he was talking about. One of the nights that had always haunted me in my sleep.

The night Jeb disappeared.

"_Why isn't Jeb here to tuck me in, too?" Angel asked as she crawled into bed. I chewed on the inside of my cheek, hesitating. _

"_He's not home yet, sweetie. But don't worry," I said softly, pulling the blankets up to her chin and tucking them around her tightly. "Now go to sleep."_

"_Goodnight, Max," Angel whispered. I kissed her forehead and turned off the light; Nudge was already asleep. _

_I shut their bedroom door lightly and closed my eyes, sighing. Jeb hadn't been home since eight AM this morning, and he'd only gone out to get groceries. It was now almost ten. And no sign of Jeb. _

_Everyone was asleep, so I crept silently down the hall and slipped on my sneakers. Instead of using the front door, which would be louder than anything, I went into my room and opened the window. Then I jumped out over the dark canyon and began a perimeter sweep, widening my range with each circle. I flew around the perimeter of the house for almost an hour, with nothing to show for it except cold toes. _

_Finally, as I was circling in closer, about to give up, I spotted something on the grass outside the door that opened into the kitchen. My heart almost stopped. I swooped down into the yard and fell to my knees, scooping up the object. I wanted to cry. Instead, I stood and shoved it into my pocket, then fly to my window and landed in my room on the soft carpet. I closed the window and kicked off my shoes._

"_Max, what are you doing?" Fang asked softly. _

_I turned and saw him, sitting on my bed, watching me. My eyes watered. He knew what I'd been doing. He knew I'd been out there, searching for Jeb. Hoping I'd see him walking up the path toward the house, or driving up the dirt road that came around the canyon side. _

_I took the object out of my pocket and held it out to Fang without a word. It was dark, but our raptor vision allowed the both of us to see clearly what I'd handed him. Jeb's glasses. One of the lenses was cracked._

"_He's not coming back, is he, Fang?" _

_Fang's fingers curled around the abandoned glasses, frowning. _

"_I mean, if he dropped them, he would have-"_

"_I don't think he dropped them, Max."_

_My heart ached. "But-"_

"_Where'd you find them?"_

"_In the backyard, but the tree line," I said softly. Fang rubbed his face, breathing deeply._

"_He's gone, isn't he," I whispered finally. Fang didn't say anything. He stood up and left my room without a word. _

I shook my head, erasing the memory. I huffed. "Broken glasses…that doesn't mean anything. That doesn't mean he died."

"Well…a Voice in your head doesn't mean he's alive, either. Don't get your hopes up for this, Max."

"You don't get it!" I cried, still keep my voice low. "This is our _only _hope, Fang. Aside from dragging ourselves to the enemy and beginning the to save me instead of _kill _me, this is our _one chance_."

Fang really looked like he wanted to talk some sense into me for a second. But…then he must've decided against it, because he sighed and stepped around me, maneuvering behind Jeb's desk and sitting in the chair. "Alright, what exactly are we looking for?"

"A mailing address. He's got to be getting our bills sent somewhere. A phone number wouldn't be a bad place to start, either. Something. There's got to be something."

Fang nodded, immediately picking up a stack of papers and scanning through them for any pertinent information.

"So, how'd you like my new power?" Fang asked casually, but I could hear the smirk in his tone.

"Meh," I shrugged.

"What? I'm, like, the total Batman package now. I figured you'd stormed inside because you needed to, erm, _calm down_-"

"Shut _up_," I said, laughing a bit. I glanced over my shoulder and saw he was smirking, too.

"It's okay, Max. Just admit it. My new power is kick-ass, and after seeing what I have to offer-"

I grabbed the fattest file I could find and swung it at his head. He rubbed his scalp as if that had hurt. I rolled my eyes.

"You're so immature."

Fang smirked. "Actually, Max, I've _matured _quite…successfully."

I laughed with him this time. I knew what he was trying to do; he was distracting me. Lightening the mood. And it was working. The atmosphere had gone from tense to comfortable in record time.

We fell into a comfortable silence after that, working quietly and trying to find anything that would lead us to Jeb.

After almost an hour of looking, Fang sighed.

"Find anything yet?"

"Nope," I mumbled. "I don't know, maybe you were right-"

"Whatever," Fang said, standing up. "We'll just have to be more thorough. But later. The other's are probably wondering where we are."

I wanted to say we needed to stop pushing it off; I wanted to tell him that we needed to stop procrastinating. Instead, I nodded. "You're right. We can do this tomorrow." I picked up the calendar and flipped forward two months. Then I scanned the numbers until I found the right day.

"There it is," I mumbled. "November twenty-first."

Fang didn't say anything. I leaned against the wall, dropping my hands to my side.

"It feels so real, now that I put a date to it. You know?"

Fang lifted his head to look at me.

I tried a wry smile, but it was impossible. My heart was racing. "I'm going to die eighteen."

My self-proclaimed birthday was November twelfth.

"You're not going to die, Max," Fang said, moving toward me.

I felt it before it happened. My nose scrunched up, my chest tightened, and my eyes pricked with the first signs of tears. As soon as the first tear fell, too, Fang stopped stepping toward me and just watched me. He didn't know what to do with a crying girl. _I _didn't even know what to do with a crying girl, let alone when that crying girl was _me_. I wiped the wetness from my cheeks, trying to reel myself in until I was alone and could properly break down.

"Grow up, Fang." I choked out a dry laugh, closing my eyes. "Everybody dies."

Fang's eyes flashed and in a second he was right in front of me, his hands cupping my face. "What happened to that hope you just had a second ago?"

"I'm just…worried."

"I know," Fang said. "You worry too much. I already told you that we're going to fix this, okay?"

I thought it was totally bogus that he was telling me I worried too much while I stood in front of him, a mark on my neck that was going to end my life in less than three months. Today was July twenty-ninth. My expiration date was November twenty-seventh.

Three months was a very short time.

"We're going to save you," Fang said quietly "Because what's so great about making fun of you if you aren't around to get pissed about it?"

I rolled my eyes, trying to calm myself down. Thankfully, the waterworks had ceased by now. I felt ridiculous and embarrassed and on-display.

"Thanks, Fang," I said wryly. "You always know _just _what to say."

Fang smirked, stepping away from me and opening the office door. "One of my many talents."

**A/N: Review! Next chapter, Max and Fang complete another Bucket List item…or two ;)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I hope you all liked the last chapter, and thanks from reading/reviewing/subscribing!**

**Just a quick note: Telling me my writing is bullshit is **_**not **_**helpful. Constructive criticism **_**is **_**helpful. I'm sorry if you don't like my story…I'm not making you read it. That's all. **

**Thanks for the awesome reviews, you guys are all superstars.**

**Flygrrl just totally pwned me. She is so right and I am so mental. I can't believe while trying to prove how good I was at counting, I skipped the entire month of September. Forgive me. Flygrrl, you have full bragging rights. Sorry, girl!**

**NOTICE: In the last chapter, I said it was July. It is actually AUGUST. I will go back and change this as soon as possible. Sorry about the inconvenience. **

**Hope you love this chapter!**

"We laugh and laugh, and nothing can ever be sad, no one can ever be lost, or dead, or far away; right now we are here, and nothing can mar our perfection, or steal the joy of this perfect moment."

-Audrey Niffenegger, _The Time Traveler's Wife_

MAX

I woke up to a tap on the shoulder. My eyes snapped open and I was staring at dark black denim. Huh. I was in a chair, my head on my arms, which were resting on a hard surface.

I sat up quickly. Oh! Jeb's office. I'd fallen asleep in Jeb's office.

"What happened to taking a break?"

My eyes slid up to meet Fang's. He was staring down at me, his arms crossed over his chest. His knowing look showed me that he was barely surprised to find me conked out in the study. He uncrossed his arms to remove a receipt from Jeb's desk that had stuck itself to my forehead.

"Um…I couldn't sleep," I said sheepishly.

"Apparently, you could," Fang said. "Come on. It's almost nine, the others are eating."

I sighed. I'd stayed up almost all night, digging through pages and pages of nonsensical studies and finding _absolutely nothing_ about expiration dates or Jeb's possible whereabouts. N-O-T-H-I-N-G.

I stood, grabbing the calendar I'd stolen off the wall yesterday and walking into the kitchen. Fang followed me. I was still in shorts and a tank top, which was what I'd changed into to go to bed last night. The others, as Fang had said, were all dressed and sitting around the table, eating breakfast.

I couldn't believe I hadn't found anything about Jeb's whereabouts. If he'd known that someday we'd want - or need - to track him down, surely he would've left us some kind of clue? And if he didn't ever want us to find him, then…this was going to be way harder than I thought. But there had to be _something_.

"Earth to Max? _Hello_?"

"Oh, what? Sorry," I said, spinning around. Everyone was staring at me, and Nudge was holding up a plate stacked with blueberry pancakes.

"We saved you some pancakes," Nudge said. Her tone made me wonder how many times she'd said it before capturing my attention.

"Thanks," I said, moving around the island and sitting down at the table next to Fang and Angel. Everyone was still watching me, so I decided to continue.

"Sparring again today," I said, digging into my pancakes. "Any objections?"

"Yes."

"Me too."

"I want to take a nap."

"I object."

My eyes landed on Fang, who hadn't spoken. He looked at me, barely able to keep the smug smirk off his face. "You're the boss."

"Suck up," Iggy muttered.

I rolled my eyes. "No, he just wants to use his new power."

Fang really couldn't hold back the smirk now.

"Hm, well then," I said, looking around the table. "I guess you're against…Iggy."

Iggy's jaw dropped. "What the heck? Why?"

"Because you told Gazzy that I was sexually confused," I said, draining a glass of juice. "And…I don't want Fang to beat me."

"Ow! What the heck, Nudge!" The Gasman recoiled and cupped his hands over his face. When he lowered them, they were covered in blood. Angel and I had already sparred; so had Fang and Iggy. Now it was Nudge and the Gasman's turn, and it looked like Nudge had just broken Gazzy's nose.

"Oh, my God, Gazzy! I'm _so_-"

Before she could finish the apology, the Gasman lashed out angrily and punched Nudge in the face.

"Ow! You little brat!" Nudge screeched, holding her eye. "I'm going to kill you!"

"Okay, okay," I said, stepping between them. The Gasman's nose was gushing blood - it was almost definitely broken. "We're done here. Inside. Nudge, get ice so that doesn't swell. Iggy, help Gazzy clean up."

Nudge stormed off towards the house. Iggy and Gazzy followed, the Gasman groaning about getting blood on his shirt. I sighed, glancing over at Fang, who had Angel on his back.

"Looks like Nudge is working out some issues," Fang joked as Angel wrapped her skinny arms around his neck. I rolled my eyes and we started toward the house.

"She thought he was going to dodge it," Angel said offhandedly. "Hey, Fang. You went really easy on Iggy. If you punched someone in the face with your super strength, what do you think would happen?"

"Their face would split in half, probably," Fang said, causing Angel to erupt into laughter. I smiled at them, opening the back door and letting them step in, first.

When we got inside, Nudge was sitting on the counter with a pack of frozen vegetables pressed to her face. I think it was corn.

"Hey, you alright?"

"I've had black eyes before," Nudge mumbled. "Gazzy's a jerk, though."

"I'm sure he's saying the same thing about you," Fang said. Nudge made a face at Fang's turned back and hopped off the counter, walking into the living room. She picked up the laptop off the coffee table and flopped down on the couch.

"Whatever. It was an accident. Maybe if his reflexes were better-"

"Stop. We all get a little banged up every once in a while. Remember when Fang broke my nose? We weren't even sparring that time. I didn't attack _him_."

Nudge looked at me over the back of the couch. "Max…you broke his collarbone."

"Yeah, a week later," I mumbled. "It's not like there's any proof that those two occurrences were connected."

Fang snorted. "Right."

I elbowed him.

Iggy and Gazzy came down the hall. The Gasman had changed his shirt and was all cleaned up, now. He was holding a tissue to his nose.

I raised my eyebrows at him, nodding towards Nudge. He stomped his foot. I mouthed, "She's not going to do it, first."

Gazzy huffed. "I'm sorry I punched you, Nudge. I know you didn't mean to break my nose."

Nudge sighed. "I'm sorry, too."

Gazzy made a face at me. _Happy? _

I rolled my eyes. "Hey, boys," I said, taking the grocery list off the fridge. "Why don't you go to the store? I mean, Fang's super strength will be incredibly helpful with lugging groceries home. Yeah?"

I smiled sweetly, shoving the list at Fang. He frowned.

"Fine," Fang said. "Let's go, guys."

Gazzy and Iggy followed Fang to the front door. Once they were just small dots on the sky, I turned to face Angel and Nudge, smirking. A plan was forming in my mind…

"…What?" Nudge asked warily, watching me.

"Let's cook something."

Nudge and Angel gaped at me. Nudge, because she was shocked. Angel, because she saw in my mind that I was dead serious.

"No! Max, we can't! Iggy's not home and you-"

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"I mean, come _on_," Nudge said, standing up. "What if we burn down the house?"

"Nudge, we have a fire extinguisher," I said. "I mean really, how hard could it be?"

Nudge and Angel glanced at each other. With my mind blocked, I allowed myself to think of the real reason I had the sudden urge to cook. I mean, how could I die without learning to prepare a meal? That was just ridiculous.

"Just help me, okay? You don't have to do anything but taste and tell me what it needs," I said. "And if it rocks, we'll surprise the others when they get home."

"And if it sucks?" Nudge asked.

I paused. "Um, then it never happened."

Angel smiled. "I'm in! What are we making?"

I frowned. "Uh…"

Nudge sighed, walking over to the pantry. She scanned the contents for a minute.

"We've got noodles…tomato sauce…there's bound to be some hamburger in the freezer…Let's make spaghetti."

"Excellent. Okay, someone look up how to make spaghetti online."

Nudge groaned, mumbling something about "exploding kitchens" and "Iggy's wrath" as she walked over to the laptop. Angel looked excited to cook. Or excited to see part of the house blow up. With her, you could never be too sure.

• • •

"It needs more parmesan cheese," Nudge said. "Besides that, it's perfect. You did really good, Max!"

I smiled proudly, watching Angel test it out, too. She smiled, giving me a thumbs up.

I mean, it was red, it had balls of meat, and the noodles weren't hard. I think it was an A+.

"Well, we're about to find out," Angel said. Nudge and Angel set the table hurriedly, and as soon as the boys came through the door, each holding three or four bags of groceries, they froze.

"I made dinner!" I exclaimed, holding up my pot of spaghetti.

"Shit," Fang breathed. "I knew something like this was going to happen."

I frowned.

"She can't _make _us eat it, right? That's illegal? Like, abuse or something?" Gazzy muttered, watching me warily.

"What happened to my kitchen? What happened to my kitchen? Is it okay? Is everything intact?"

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. I did great, and it tastes good, so just give me a chance…okay?"

Fang knew exactly what I was doing right away. His face softened and he set down the bags of groceries on the counter.

"Alright, let's put this stuff away and eat," he said. "I mean, the girls tried it, and no one's throwing up yet."

"Good point," Iggy said. "Although some poisons are slow."

I rolled my eyes, opening a bag and pulling out the contents.

"Donuts…cookies…ice cream? What the hell?"

"You told us to go shopping," Iggy said.

"Yeah, but…I gave you a list!"

"Gazzy dropped it," Fang said, stuffing about ten boxed pizzas into the freezer.

"In the air," Gazzy giggled.

I gazed at them in shock. "We're all going to get fat," I mumbled.

"Not with all that cardio you force us into," Gazzy retorted. "We deserve a few snacks every once in a while."

"Yeah, I guess. How much did you spend?"

"Does it matter?" Fang said quietly, brushing past me. "We don't pay the bill, remember?"

I sighed, reaching for another bag. It had something wrapped in a paper bag inside, and I was curious. I mean, what did they buy that was breakable?

"I'll take that one," Fang said, swooping in and taking the bag from my hand. He winked at me, then disappeared down the hall.

What was with that kid lately?

Once everything was put away, we all sat down for dinner. Everyone took a generous portion of pasta, which made me extremely happy. Then, they all sat there, waiting for someone to take the first bite.

Fang sighed.

"Okay, here goes nothing," he mumbled. I leaned over, enrapt, ready for him to priase me for being totally awesome. He took a bite.

Then gagged.

I smacked him on the arm. "That's not funny!" I hissed. Fang smirked, swallowing. Then he gave a thumbs up to the others.

It was edible.

I was a god.

• • •

"_You have 45 seconds to pull your stuff together, okay?"_

While Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher started getting up close and personal on screen, I flopped back on the couch with a handful of potato chips. Fang had the bag in his lap. It was almost eleven, and the others had all gone to bed. Fang and I had been looking for a movie to watch on TV and had landed on _No Strings Attached_.

"Hey," I said, shoving a chip in my mouth. "Would you ever be in a relationship like that?"

Fang glanced at me. "But, Max. I thought we already were."

I rolled my eyes, kicking him again. "Fang."

"Why, are you offering?"

"No," I snorted. "I think it's stupid."

"Maybe it works for some people," Fang said.

"No way," I said adamantly, looking at the screen. The two characters were jumping back into their clothes, now. _Well, that was quick. _"What did you think of my spaghetti?"

"Surprisingly palatable," Fang said. "Another Bucket List item?"

I nodded. "I mean, it wasn't a five course meal, but… at least I won't die only knowing how to make toast."

Fang sat up, throwing my feet off his lap. "I almost forgot."

"What?" I asked sitting up and watching him leave the room. He disappeared down the hall for a moment then emerged with the grocery bag he'd rescued from me, earlier.

"I bought something," Fang said, grinning at me. He pushed the bag over to me, motioning for me to open it.

Tentatively, I pulled out the paper bag, then opened it.

"Fang! What the hell?" I said, examining the bottle. "Did you steal this?"

Fang rolled his eyes. "She didn't even card me."

I stopped myself from saying that the fact that she was a _she _and he was _Fang _probably contributed to that fact a bit. I stared down at the bottle of alcohol. "We cannot drink this," I said, looking up at him.

"It's on your Bucket List."

"Fang…"

"It was twelve bucks," Fang urged.

"Fang!"

He got up and went into the kitchen, grabbing two glasses. When he set them on the coffee table, my stomach clenched with…excitement? fear? Were we seriously going to drink this? I couldn't believe he'd bought it.

"Be quiet," Fang hushed me for yelling his name, sitting down next to me. "We aren't sharing with the others."

"You're out of your mind if you think we're going to drink this," I said sternly. "That's…that's…"

He took the bottle from me and opened it, then glanced at me.

"Do the boys know you bought this?"

"Nah," Fang said. "I was discreet."

I sighed. Fang poured a shot into each glass, then handed one to me and took one for himself.

"We should not be doing this," I said quietly. For some stupid reason, though, I couldn't keep the smile off my face.

"Who the fuck cares?" Fang breathed back.

We drank.

It wasn't what I was expecting. It burned my throat. The aftertaste was putrid. I scrunched up my nose and stuck my tongue out, making a _yuck _sound. Fang looked kind of thoughtful.

"Is it supposed to taste that bad?" I asked.

Fang shrugged. "Maybe we just have to get used to it," he said.

And after two more, Fang was right. It didn't taste as bad, the more small shots we took. I still wasn't sure how much I wanted in my system, though. I wasn't stupid; I knew what happened to people who drank too much alcohol. And I didn't plan on spending any one of my last days on earth bent over the toilet, vomiting. No. Thank you.

"I can't believe you bought this," I said. Then, because I wasn't sure if I'd even said that out loud, I said again, "I _can't _believe you bought this!"

"I bought it because you said you wanted to get drunk," Fang said. Then, jokingly, he said, "Damn, I can never do anything good enough for you."

I laughed. Fang set down his glass and grabbed my arms, restraining me. I continued to laugh.

"What do you _want _from me?" Fang demanded jokingly, gripping my arms and pushing me down onto the couch. I laughed, struggling, but that caused him to hold me down harder.

I realized a bit too late that Fang and I were clutching each other, hovering inches apart. I laughed lightly, almost so caught up in the feeling of his arms around me that I barely noticed the flame in his eyes.

"You know…I've never kissed anyone before," I murmured. I didn't really have to tell him that; he already knew. He knew everything. Everything about me. More than I probably knew.

"I'm seventeen…and I've never kissed anyone before."

Fang watched me.

"It's on my list," I mumbled, leaning closer. "We can't skip it."

Fang cleared his throat.

"We're nothing if not thorough," Fang agreed roughly. He leaned toward me.

"Wait!" I whispered, putting my hand on his chest. "Should we, like, brush our teeth or something? What…what am I supposed to do with my hands? And what if-"

"Shut _up_, Max."

For the next ten seconds, I didn't have an expiration date on my neck. No, that would have caused us to move quickly and desperately and thoughtlessly. Instead, we acted as if we had all the time in the world, and I swear it took Fang a whole minute to even touch his lips to mine but when he did…it was worth the wait.

My lips were dry, because unlike other girls I _didn't _religiously apply lip gloss upon each hour - but Fang fixed that problem with a quick, slow swipe of his tongue on my bottom lip.

He tasted like vodka.

I sucked in a breath at the sensation, twisting my fingers in his hair, tilting my head back to give him better access. With one hand on the back of his neck, slowly combing through his hair, I used the other hand to prop myself up on the couch. Fang quickly took advantage of that position and pulled me on top of him, locking me in his lap with his strong, wiry arms tight around my waist. His thumbs stroked my sides and my hipbones, making me gasp. Our lips moved as if we'd been kissing each other our entire lives.

Eventually, I sat back on his lap and filled my lungs with oxygen. I grabbed his face with both hands and placed another giddy kiss to his lips, because for the first time in days I was truly happy.

Then I pushed my hair back and looked down at him.

And I said, "Are you hungry?"

And he said, "Starving."

And then he rolled over on top of me again and smashed his lips to mine.

**A/N: You guys better tell me how you felt about **_**that**_**. **


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